David wrote:
> Since Miguel specifically mentioned my signature file, I thought I would
> explain my logic. My knowledge of the copyright laws is a bit out of
> date; so, some of the logic might be based on assumptions that have
> changed because of court rulings.
>
> 1. Something which made available to the public is considered
> published. This could be as simple as posting a photograph in your
> office. With thousands of people on TIPS and there being a public
> archive, it would be hard to argue that this is not publishing.
I think this is incorrect. Anything you WRITE (or create, as in a drawing or
painting) is copyright protected. Publishing is not a criterion. The example of
posting a photograph is probably really misleading, too: Do you mean a
photograph I made? Or perhaps one I bought? Or clipped out of a magazine?
> 2. If something is published with out a copyright notice, it
> immediately becomes public domain and no permission is legally required
> to use it. Fair use laws only apply to copyrighted material.
Failure to use a notice of copyright does not, as I understand it,
automatically put the material into the public domain. It's still your work,
whether the copyright notice is included or not.
One can register the copyright, at minor cost, but that is not required (as I
understand things) to protect your ownership interests in what you have
written.
> 3. I don't think that most of what I have to say is all that profound;
> but, I would rather have the intellectual property rights protected on
> the 99% of stuff that is garbage just so I don't forget and leave it off
> that 1% I meant to put the copyright notice on. That is why it is
> automatically include in the signature file.
Can't hurt to include it, but it isn't necessary. It's all still yours, garbage
or not.
> 4. Intellectual property rights are lost if something is published
> without the copyright notice. Intellectual property rights are not
> protected until the copyright is registered with the government. Do I
> really register everything I write? No. But registering a collected work
> is as good as registering each item individually. So, every year I
> choose the best of what I have done, collect it together in a volume
> called, Works of David Wheeler, Year xxxx, then register that.
I think this is just incorrect. You retain your ownership rights even if you do
not register the copyright or include the copyright notice verbiage.
> 5. I give the permission for use statement so that TIPsters can use it
> for their classes or forwarding it to their colleagues without emailing
> me. I want the signature left on so that people know where the idea
> came from and to protect the intellectual property rights. This is just
> like what you would do if you were using a graph which someone had
> published in a paper of your own.
This blanket permission is probably helpful, in that it allows some limited use
of the material while acknowledging the author's ownership in it.
> 6. The monetary gains exclusion is put in there so that if your are
> going to be using this in a book or presentation for which you will be
> getting paid, I would be able to ask for some royalties. My
> understanding of the fair use laws is that an immediate distribution to
> your students is OK. If you use it every semester, then you need
> permission. It's like showing today's Dilbert cartoon in class. That
> is ok, but don't do it next year and don't use it at your APS convention
> presentation without permission.
This is correct, I believe.
Copyright law is very ambiguous. As I hear it, decisions about copyright
violations generally come down to decisions in particular court cases--in
effect, the judges are progressively writing the law. All the copyright laws
give is guidelines.
Consequently, one would be well advised to check with a lawyer who is
knowledgeable about this category of issues, if you are worried about
protecting your interests in stuff that matters deeply to you (TIPS
postings????).
Pat Cabe
**************************************************
Patrick Cabe, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
One University Drive
Pembroke, NC 28372-1510
(910) 521-6630
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty."
Thomas Jefferson
"There is the danger that everyone waits
idly for others to act in his stead."
Albert Einstein
"Majorities simply follow minorities.
Gandhi
