Copyright notices

jjordan@alston.com
Thu, 13 Jun 1996 14:26:08 -0400 (EDT) 

Date: Thu, 13 Jun 1996 14:26:08 -0400 (EDT)
Message-Id: <199606131826.OAA24074@foyer.homecom.com>
From: jjordan@alston.com
Subject: Copyright notices


     Someone wrote:
     >A copyright notice has almost no legal significance any longer.  It's 
     >virtually a waste of ink (or of disk space).
     
          While use of a copyright notice is not required for works first 
     published on and after March 1, 1989, it is my understanding that any 
     work first published before that date (and being reposted now) must 
     bear a notice or risk loss of copyright protection.  Also, even for 
     new works, a notice is advantageous because if the work carries a 
     proper notice, the defendant in an infringement suit will probably not 
     prevail on a defense of "innocent infringement"--that is, that he or 
     she did not realize that the work is protected.  (A successful 
     innocent infringement defense may result in a reduction in damages 
     that the copyright owner would otherwise receive.)  Finally, a notice 
     is a very practical way to make clear that you intend to claim and/or 
     enforce copyrights in your work, especially in an environment like the 
     Internet in which many people assume (erroneously) that all copyrights 
     are waived unless there is a notice.
     
     Thus:
     Copyright 1996 Jim Jordan (jjordan@alston.com)
     The copyright owner consents to the archiving and retransmission of 
     this message to others at no charge so long as it is not shortened or 
     edited, and includes this copyright notice and disclaimer.
     The author's comments regarding legal doctrines are not warranted, are 
     not intended as legal advice for any specific set of facts, and do not 
     reflect subtle differences in the facts or subsequent changes in the 
     law which may be encountered by the reader and which may change the 
     results.  The author is licensed to practice law in the U.S. Patent 
     and Trademark Office and the State of Georgia only. 
      
     



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