At 04:39 AM 12/27/2006, Peter wrote: > >c) The way I understand it, when one publishes something (for example >posts an email), then one is automatically assiged the copyright to it >even if one does not assert that. The only exceptions occur when the >publication is specifically placed in the public domain, or when the >content of the publication is not copyrightable. 1. Damages start only after you perfect the copyright by registering it ($45 fee, currently). 2. Statutory damages (up to $100,000 regardless of actual damages) only apply if you register within 90 days of publication. 3. You have to prove the theft and the damages. This is not easy, unless it is obvious. 4. You have to bring suit in the Federal District Court where the violation took place. This requires a corresponding attorney versed in intellectual property rights law. Example: I wrote a small book, a portion of which a medium-sized company ($100M/yr) appropriated and re-published under its own name. I was presented with this excerpt by a customer who said the other company claimed the information was superior to ours. Upon examining the "better" information, it was obviously a direct copy with the other company's letterhead attached. After about a year of time, a patent attorney and a local corresponding attorney, the other company went from "We never saw the information" to "We didn't do it" to "It's public domain anyway" to "An employee did it without our knowledge". They did stop short of "The Devil made us do it!" After all of this, I got reimbursed for attorney's fees and got a promise "We won't do it again". Copyrights, like patents, are primarily useful to large companies who want to punish small ones with threatened lawsuits. ================================================================ Robert A. LaBudde, PhD, PAS, Dpl. ACAFS e-mail: ral@lcfltd.com Least Cost Formulations, Ltd. URL: http://lcfltd.com/ 824 Timberlake Drive Tel: 757-467-0954 Virginia Beach, VA 23464-3239 Fax: 757-467-2947 "Vere scire est per causas scire" ================================================================ -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist