Wouter van Ooijen wrote: >> Let's say I write up something, put it in an envelope, seal that >> envelope and put it in a lock box to which I don't have a key, and make >> sure that I have a definite proof (through the lock box owner, by a >> sufficiently "definite" procedure) that I put that specific work in the >> lock box on 2005-12-23. >> >> Can I later claim that I "published" this work for copyright uses? > > AFAIK not, at least not in my country. Are you definitely sure? What would constitute a "publication" in this context in your country? How "public" must it be? For example, I know that generally copyright retention is an issue in work for hire (not sure about your country, though). Work for hire rarely gets published, though... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berne_Convention_for_the_Protection_of_Literary_and_Artistic_Works only speaks of "creation", not of publication. But IANL... :) > AFIK you need to prove that someone *could* have copied your work, > because it was publicly available. Again, the question is what means "publicly available". Anything in my house is available to a burglar (see Howard's post). Something I published in a trade magazine that's only available to certain qualified companies may not be available to that burglar. So, from the burglar's point of view, my "publication" is less "available" than my lab book with my private notes. >> I also think that I could use it as prior art in later patent disputes >> (which of course is a different question than copyright). > > Again, no. Prior art is to be interpreted as prior art in the common > (accessible) domain ("as accessible or know to a crafstman in the > applicable field"). This seems to be different in different countries. For example, in the USA it seems to count as prior art if somebody else (in the USA) knew about it before the claimed date of invention. In that case, the contents of my envelope would suffice. >From : '[...] a person is not entitled to a patent if the invention was "known or used by others in this country, or [...]' But then, seems to agree with you and require some form of "publication". Finally, the Wikipedia is somewhat in between those two extremes (at least for the USA)... Doesn't seem to be an issue that could be resolved without a lawyer :) Gerhard -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist