> Hi,
>
> I am going to transfer the maintainence of the FAQ for 'soc.culture.taiwan'
> to someone else. I would need some efforts to teach my successor about
> this list, how to submit to 'news.answers', and so on. However, there is
> a problem with the copyright statement. Right now in the FAQ documents
> I maintain, there is some copyright statement like
>
> "....... 1995, 1996, 1997 copyright by Tung-chiang Yang".
>
> Suppose in October 1997 my successor is going to take over the FAQ
> posting work (even before he is approved by 'news.answers' moderation
> team, as he posts in 'soc.culture.taiwan' only). What should we do to
> modify the above copyright statement?
Copyright 1995-97 (country) Tung-chiang Yang,
Copyright (country) 1997 A-New Guy
tous droits reserve
> Both of us understand that he would not sue me, and I would not sue him.
> However, if he uses "1997 copyright by Joe Smith", is it going to conflict
> with the copyright statement of a previous copy of the FAQ I maintain on
> a Web server which still keeps obsolete FAQ's?
You should probaly write the new folk a letter giving him or her
permision to use/modify your work. You are in effect giving him/her a
licence to use the work. Part of the leter might include an
understanding of what rights (if any) you are retaining for
yourself..(Can you publish the old version ? Can you take the FAQ back
(with or without his/her revisons) if he/she skips town
> I wonder if Terry Caroll is still reading here in this mailing list. The
> copyright issue with FAQ's seems to show up on the cyberspace only since
> here we have a "transfer" option while other CD's, books, softwares, and
> so on, do not have such a 'transfer' option.
Terry may stay away to avoid the apperance of giving legal advice..
Actualy the author of a book "tranfers" the copyright to the publisher,
and often the publisher "tranfers" the rights to another publisher -
Foreign editions or paperback. Read the copright page on a mass-market
paperback by a big hardcover author. it will look something like
Copyright (this year) massmarket publications
a divison of humungus media corp,
first published by presdisious publishing
copyright (last year) presdisious Publishing.
The publishing industry uses laywers to ensure that all the loose ends
are tied up. That is what laywers (I am NOT A LAWYER) get paid for.
Charles MacDonald Stittsville Ontario cmacd@achilles.net
--- Just beyond the fringe ---
<a href="http://www.achilles.net/~cmacd/">homepage</a>
Canada is good! - SOMEONE should stand up for it!