Re: Asimov Site

[pausch@saafNOSPAM.se (Paul Schlyter)]

In article <Pine.LNX.3.96.1000829144619.13591A-100000@step.mother.com>,
Sandra Warnken  <warnken@mother.com> wrote:
 
> I have copied the following from http://www.loc.gov/copyright 
> You do have to file for copyright.  The latest fees are increased to $30
> up depending on what you are doing.
> 
> Sandy
> 
>    U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Basics (Circular 1) (p15 of 50)
> NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT
>  
>      The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U. S.
>      law, although it is often beneficial. Because prior law did contain
>      such a requirement, however, the use of notice is still relevant to
>      the copyright status of older works.
>  
>      Notice was required under the 1976 Copyright Act. This requirement
>      was eliminated when the United States adhered to the Berne
>      Convention, effective March 1, 1989. Although works published
>      without notice before that date could have entered the public
>      domain in the United States, the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
>      (URAA) restores copyright in certain foreign works originally
>      published without notice. For further information about copyright
>      amendments in the URAA, request [56]Circular 38b.
>  
>      The Copyright Office does not take a position on whether copies of
>      works first published with notice before March 1, 1989, which are
>      distributed on or after March 1, 1989, must bear the copyright
>      notice.
>  
>        U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Basics (Circular 1) (p9 of 50)
>  
>      Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in
>      a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly
>      perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a
>      machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following
>      categories:
>      * (1) literary works;
>      * (2) musical works, including any accompanying words
>      * (3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music
>      * (4) pantomimes and choreographic works
>      * (5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
>      * (6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works
>      * (7) sound recordings
>      * (8) architectural works
>  
>      These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer
>      programs and most "compilations" may be registered as "literary
>      works"; maps and architectural plans may be registered as
>      "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works."
 
 
Well, that's good news for people who want free copies of software:
most software authors just put a (c) mark on their product and don't
bother to register it.  So all you have to do is to check whether
it's registered by the copyright office -- if it isn't, then it's
free for anyone to copy it.  Is that correct?
 
Now, how do I check whether a particular piece of work is registered
by the copyright office or not, and whether the fee has been paid or
not?
 
 
-- 
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