Re: A83: Ultimatum for Hays...
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Re: A83: Ultimatum for Hays...
On Sat, 6 Jan 2001, Thomas J. Hruska wrote:
> Yes, it is true that there is an implied copyright on your programs.
> However, the copyright office at lcweb.loc.gov is the place where I get my
> information as well. The problem is that the wording in the FAQ is
> horrible since it never states that you may not use the (C) symbol in your
> programs and/or documentation. What is not stated is not implied. I'm
> guilty of violating this as well in some of my own programs (shortly after
> reading the same FAQ).
It certainly does not state that you may not use it, but it does
explicitly state that you can use it (the exact opposite of your claim).
Why the Copyright Office would supply a document claiming the exact
opposite of the truth is beyond me.
Of course, it should probably be noted that (refer to 17 U.S.C. 401(b))
that a copyright notice has either the C with a circle around it, the word
"Copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr." is a copyright notice, not the
letters (C) that you mention repeatedly (of course, the intent to
express a copyright is still clear, but in any case, I don't really want
to argue about how similar it is).
> The official source of my claim that you are not allowed to use the (C)
> symbol in your programs/documentation is found in section 506 (Criminal
> offenses) part c. Which states:
>
> (c) FRAUDULENT COPYRIGHT NOTICE. — Any person who, with fraudulent
> intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or words of the same
> purport that such person knows to be false, or who, with fraudulent intent,
> publicly distributes or imports for public distribution any article bearing
> such notice or words that such person knows to be false, shall be fined not
> more than $2,500.
>
> This means that putting (C), Copyright, or any implication of a registered
> copyright is illegal.
Why would these be considered an implication of a registered copyright?
It seems to me that while writing "registerd copyright" would imply that
it is registered, but just "copyright" does not say whether it is
registered or not.
It seems to me that this section of the statute instead refers to claiming
that a work is copyrighted to someone when that person doesn't have the
copyright at all.
In any case, 17 U.S.C. 401(a) explicitly tells you that you can use a
copyright notice, and does not impose any restrictions on when you can do
so (the next few paragraphs simply tell how to make a notice, and what
benefits it gives; they do not mention registration either):
"(a) General Provisions.-Whenever a work protected under this title is
published in the United States or elsewhere by authority of the copyright
owner, a notice of copyright as provided by this section may be placed on
publicly distributed copies from which the work can be visually perceived,
either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."
I am aware, of course, of the somehwhat similar case dealing with
trademarks, in which using the R with a cricle to falsely indicate
registration of a trademark is probihibited, but copyrights are not the
same as trademarks.
> By mailing a copy to yourself on a CD, you guarantee that the code was
> written on or before the date it was processed through the mail system.
> How? The postmark always carries the date and possibly the time that the
> mail came through the mail system. The post office is a federally run
> system and thus will seal the fate of Hays in court because the court
> recognizes the post office as a valid federal branch of the government.
> Hays could not possibly change a postmark to a date before yours. Thus,
> you will have the earlier date and a winning case in the court room. Make
> sure the court re-seals the evidence for potential future cases.
Yes, I am aware of its potential to prove you have written something at a
specified time. However, this is not terribly useful for a copyright
suit, as if you want to sue, you will have to have registered the
copyright anyway, which already establishes a date. Of course, I suppose
you could do only the self-mailing to date the work if you weren't sure
whether or not you would sue, and then only register if you decide to sue
later, using the mailing as proof of the original date of creation of the
work. But this certainly is not an essential part of copyright suits.
References: