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Re: [OM] Lycos Copyright Infringement

Subject: Re: [OM] Lycos Copyright Infringement
From: "John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 00:38:18 +0000
At 04:10 1/16/01, Richard Keefer wrote:
No lawyer here.  But I have copyrighted several things.  In order for a
copyright to be effective you should file a form and pay a fee to the US
Copyright office.

Merely stating that something is copyrighted is often not enough (That was the advice I received regarding several computer programs I wrote some time ago), you need to prove that it is your work and that you have filed the appropriate notice of your intent to keep the work out of the public domain.

[snip]

ps - got  the estimate from the OM Doctor today, no more than $80 for the
total repair. BUT THREE WEEKS NO CAMERA ---- Breath in ...... breath
out.......
THREE WEEKS.
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

Sorry you're suffering withdrawl! Been through withdrawl in the past; not good; continuous separation anxiety attacks. Could this be turned into justification for a second OM body? (Yes, this is called one Zuikoholic enabling another, er, um, I mean Zuikohobbyist.)

U.S. copyright laws changed within the past several years to provide much greater protection, and it probably occurred after you did your registrations. As soon as you make the image, it's copyrighted . . . whether or not you put a notice on it, or register it.

A copyright marking helps and serves notice that unauthorized use has the risk of legal action. Registration makes it easier to prove it's yours, and provides minimum compensatory damages (they're not that small either). Without registration you have to show damages to collect any . . . but it doesn't affect the right to enforce cessation of unauthorized use.

There seems to be great insensitivity to digital image ownership . . . with the feeling if it's a jpeg on the internet that it's automagically public domain. Not so.

Anyone who's interested in details, on-line gov't. sources for current U.S. copyright laws, email me off-list. I'll send you a list of links to U.S. gov't sites with current policies, procedures and laws. I read them when I set up the notice on my site. Since the mail list is international, U.S. laws are not applicable to a good number of list members.

-- John


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