On Wed, 6 Apr 1994, Russell Nelson wrote:
> I have a copyright notice on my FAQ that prohibits commercial use
> without permission. I have not been asked for, nor granted permission
> for this FAQ to be used. I have not filed the copyright papers.
>
> If you care about your copyright, you'll register it. I have a
> PostScript program that prints out the copyright form. Just ask for
> it.
>
While registering a copyright is a good thing... it isn't really needed
if one doesn't plan to make money off their FAQ. But not registering it
doesn't give others the right to make money off of it either.
The right? No. But if your copyright is not registered, and you
can't prove that you lost money from the infringement, then you have
NO WAY to use the law to stop anyone from copying your work (unless
you have deep pockets).
> What do I do now?
>
> There's not much you *can* do. You can fire off a demand letter to
> Walnut Creek demanding that they stop distributing your FAQ. This is
> a necessary prerequisite to sueing them. If they thought they had
> permission to distribute it, then they are an innocent infringer.
>
This is a good idea too. And there isn't much you can do by your self,
but banded together with others... I believe we can be much more powerful.
Not within the context of copyright law, no. You could still try to
use the net and the press to apply societal pressure. But be careful
to stick to the facts.
> And, given that you were distributing this document freely on the
> Internet, they can probably make a good case that they were free to
> copy it onto a CD. A CD is, after all, just a very large packet with
> a very long round-trip time.
It is not and that analogy wouldn't hold up in court, at least I hope
not. We are talking about people who have expressly written copyright
notices that forbid distribution other then on USENET and FTP. I think a
CD violates that...
If that's the case then Walnut Creek CD-ROM screwed up. But if the
copyright isn't registered...
> Can I sue? Should I?
>
> Wouldn't do much good. You can only recover actual damages. You'd
> have to show that you were making money from the FAQ in some other
> way, and that distribution of the FAQ on their CD-ROM deprived you of
> money.
I think you can recover $300 and attorney fees... as well. There is a new
copyright law about this and the copyright FAQ is unclear in this area.
Not the last time I talked to a lawyer about it (about a year ago).
But you could still register your copyright now and sue later =)
Only if the infringement continued after your copyright was registered.
-russ <nelson@crynwr.com> ftp.msen.com:pub/vendor/crynwr/crynwr.wav
Crynwr Software | Crynwr Software sells packet driver support | ask4 PGP key
11 Grant St. | +1 315 268 1925 (9201 FAX) | Quakers do it in the light
Potsdam, NY 13676 | LPF member - ask me about the harm software patents do.
[
Usenet Hypertext FAQ Archive |
Search Mail Archive |
Authors |
Usenet
]
[
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997
]
© Copyright The Landfield Group, 1997
All rights reserved