[694] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Intellectual Property Rights
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Public-Access Computer Systems For)
Wed Jul 8 09:30:45 1992
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1992 08:26:02 CDT
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
From: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <LIBPACS%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L%UHUPVM1.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu>
4 Messages, 89 Lines
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From: MJENSEN@charlie.usd.edu
Subject: Intellectual Property and its Discontents
>Re copyright publication of ideas; as I understand the issue, the
>last copyright law revision combined the "common law" protections
>of ideas for which one had not bothered to file for copyright,
This is not really correct. Neither statutory copyright under the
1909 Act, the 1976 Act nor common law copyright protect(ed) ideas.
All only protect(ed) expression
>with the formal "c in a circle plus filing fee" protections, in
Filing fees and registration are not required for copyright protection
under the 1976 Act. They are sometimes a prerequisite for infringement
suits and they can create presumptions in your favor, but they are
not part of getting protection.
>such a way that the _old_ tried and true formulation of "posting"
>your ideas in a form which could be dated (letter to yourself,
>postmarked) w/o copyright filing or fees, acquired one the
>same protection as formal filing. E-mail posting would have the
This is confusing trademark with copyright. The purpose of posting
in a form dated for trademark is to show actual use of the mark. All
it does in copyright is help to establish that the work existed at
a particular point in time, which may or may not have been the point
of creation. Since copyright is now measured from date of creation or
death of the author, posting it to yourself serves little purpose.
>same effect, in the U.S., even without the hassle of filing.
>E-posting might, then, protect one's ideas at the same time that
>it communicated them....
Perhaps what this statement is trying to say is that if you put it in
a letter or an email message, your ideas become fixed. That is true.
Copyright attaches as soon as an expression is fixed in a tangible
medium of expression. Both paper and storage on any magnetic media
count as fixation. And since all email messages are fixed at one point
in time on the magnetic media (or other stable media) of some host
machine, it satisfies the fixation requirement and copyright attaches.
Mary Brandt Jensen
Associate Professor of Law
University of South Dakota
MJENSEN@CHARLIE.USD.EDU
(605) 677 6363
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From: JIM DOWNEY <JDOWNEY@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU>
Subject: COPYRIGHT & The Poor Man
In a previous article, HICKEY%ITHACA.BitNet@pucc.PRINCETON.EDU wrote:
>Re copyright publication of ideas; as I understand the issue, the
>last copyright law revision combined the "common law" protections
>of ideas for which one had not bothered to file for copyright,
>with the formal "c in a circle plus filing fee" protections, in
>such a way that the _old_ tried and true formulation of "posting"
>your ideas in a form which could be dated (letter to yourself,
>postmarked) w/o copyright filing or fees, acquired one the
>same protection as formal filing. E-mail posting would have the
>same effect, in the U.S., even without the hassle of filing.
>E-posting might, then, protect one's ideas at the same time that
>it communicated them....
But then the law made it impossible to enforce such a copyright by
specifically stating that NO court action can be undertaken to enforce
a copyright without an OFFICIAL registration/filing of the copyright
with the Copyright Office.
So it is a very confusing issue and is essentially a lion without teeth.
| James M. Downey (INTERNET) JDOWNEY@ECN.MASS.EDU |
| Salem State College (FIDONET) Jim Downey 1:324/0 SHAKERS |
| 352 Lafayette St. (VOICE) (617) 592-8257 Ans. Machine |
| Salem, MA 01970 Executive Technical Director **NETTI** |
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From: bkatz@cosy.uoguelph.ca
Subject: Intellectual Propert
A small but important correction to the attached posting: copyright does
not protect *ideas*. It protects the form in which the ideas are expressed.
Bernard Katz
U of Guelph Library
bkatz@cosy.uoguelph.ca
