My understanding is if you just put (c) with a name and date on anything you produce, it is covered by copyright law.
Why not get HB to automatically add this to all ideas?
(c) me, now
(Look at that, I failed at the first attempt. I blame my dad for giving me these recidivist lurker genes)-- oscil8, May 25 2012 first to file http://en.wikipedia...America_Invents_Actnot first to invent [Voice, May 25 2012] U.S. Copyright Office http://www.copyrigh...general.html#myworkFAQ on copyright in general [ytk, May 25 2012] I just saw what that looks like in the recent list. This is not intended to be an ascii art homage to non-discriminatory whatchamicallits. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against whatchamicallits, actually I'm quite a fan. But this has nothing to do with them.-- oscil8, May 25 2012 Whatchamicaltits.
Tee hee.-- theleopard, May 25 2012 Actually, in the United States at least, it's unnecessary. You automatically own the copyright to any creative work you produce (with a few exceptions), unless you specifically disclaim the copyright and place the work into the public domain.
Oh, and: ©-- ytk, May 25 2012 Same for the UK, too.-- calum, May 25 2012 Every idea and every annotation should be mailed special delivery to yourself and left unopened. Just in case.-- mitxela, May 25 2012 First, [mitxela], that's patents. A whole different ball of wax from copyright. Second, that will no longer work in the US and hasn't ever worked in the rest of the world. Since last year the US is a first-to-patent country. linky.
Prior art is still an obstacle.-- Voice, May 25 2012 Native copyright is widely recognised around the world. Patents are a little different.-- UnaBubba, May 25 2012 // My understanding is if you just put (c) with a name and date on anything you produce, it is covered by copyright law. //
Your undertstanding is incorrect. One must file for copyrights exactly as one does for patents. Even the much- vaunted 'poor man's copyright', which does not work, is more complicated than simply slapping a (c) on something.-- Alterother, May 25 2012 //Every idea and every annotation should be mailed special delivery to yourself and left unopened.//
This is the "poor man's copyright" mentioned by [Alter], which indeed does not work. The reason it doesn't work is it's actually inconclusive. Who's to say you didn't mail yourself an empty, unsealed envelope several years ago, and have just now placed a copy of the work you're claiming copyright to and sealed it up?
//One must file for copyrights exactly as one does for patents.//
You don't /have/ to file to get a copyright, but it's a very good idea to /register/ your copyright because generally, the first person to register the copyright has the strongest claim. But if you can prove somehow that you produced the work, you get the copyright regardless of whether you registered it or not.
This is one of the differences between a copyright and a patent. You must file for a patent in order to receive it. Copyright is automatic.-- ytk, May 25 2012 Yes, I was simplifying the explanation, so I shouldn't have used the word 'exactly'. I hold a copyright for my writing, which I obtained by registering with the bureau and sending a check for $55 along with a few dozen of my unpublished works. I can now put my '(c) A. Benson 2012' on anything I write, whether or not that specific piece of writing is in the bureau's archives. I need to keep renewing it every year, however, and it costs me no more to send them the bulk of my writing from the previous year than it does to send a single piece, and doing so theoretically provides me greater protection.
By the way, I just copyrighted this anno (although it's legally grey because of [jutta]'s public domain disclaimer pertaining to all content appearing on the site). Once you fill out the forms and send the money, you _can_ just slap it on any original work and make it stick.-- Alterother, May 25 2012 Respectfully, [Alterother], I don't think you quite understand copyright law. Copyright registration applies to a specific work, not an author. And it's not necessary to register at all to obtain a copyright. By international convention, anybody who produces any work automatically and immediately receives the copyright to that work. Registration of a copyright is only an additional means to protect yourself legally from copyright infringement, but it's not necessary to do so (although having your copyright registered will make it far easier to prove your claim in court, and may entitle you to additional damages).
And contrary to what you seem to believe, just because you've registered the copyright on a single work, does NOT mean that subsequent works you produce are considered registered as well. In fact, even if you make substantial modifications to an existing work that has been registered, the new work would not be considered registered (although the old one would still be, of course). You would still retain the copyright to anything you produced, of course, but that would be true whether or not you registered any work previously, and whether or not you placed an explicit copyright notice on the work.
The general rule is that for your work to be registered, you must send an actual copy of the work (along with the application and fee) to the U.S. Copyright Office. If they don't have an actual copy of the work in question, I assure you with 100% certainty that it is not considered registered, and you will receive nothing more than the standard copyright protection afforded to anybody else who produces a work, whether or not they've ever sent anything to the Copyright Office previously.
(See the link to the Copyright Office FAQ that may be helpful for you)-- ytk, May 25 2012 Respectfully, you are correct. I signed the forms and my wife handled the rest. What I wrote above was a clumsy version of what she explained to me, and in review it comes across as condescending ignorant blather.
This is probably because I've been drunk for most of the afternoon (am less so now) and reacted improperly to what others were saying. I have it on pretty good authority that drunks do so such things. Anyhow, I can only throw myself upon the mercy of the 'bakery and ask that I be forgiven, and may others undo what damage I have done.
I shall, for the remainder of my intoxication, restrict my commentary to topics I actually know something about, or to those which require no knowledge whatsoever.-- Alterother, May 25 2012 //This is probably because I've been drunk for most of the afternoon (am less so now)//
Shame on you. Rectify this new development immediately. I recommend a gin and tonic, stat.-- ytk, May 25 2012 I hate gin. Will Patron serve as an acceptable substitute?
All I really know is that whatever we paid for protects my work. I really should have left it at that instead of being a blowhard.-- Alterother, May 25 2012 Well, it's a tad uncouth, but I suppose it's all the same once it's in the bloodstream. Carry on.-- ytk, May 25 2012 I also have some 12-year-old Redbreast, but I try not to drink the good whiskey when I'm already plastered, and it seems I'm fresh out of Jameson's.
Here's a toast to [ytk].
Bloody hell, I really should have quit after my first anno. What a fool.
Here's to fools.-- Alterother, May 25 2012 //Here's to fools.//
I'll drink to that. Cheers, mate.-- ytk, May 25 2012 And I'll second that - Homebrew IPA for me. Come on over, I've some fresh.-- normzone, May 26 2012 random, halfbakery