OT: Forum legalish question

[John Abreau]

Ben Scott wrote:

>   *Everything* is covered by copyright (except works by the US
> *Federal* government).  This email I am writing right now is copyright
> by me, and I don't have to say so to reserve my rights.  You don't
> need to register or do *anything* to get copyright.  So you can't just
> copy stuff (not legally, anyway).  You don't have to like this, but
> you do have to accept it (at least until/unless you can get the law
> changed).

Copyrights expire, at least in theory. *Everything* created before 1922
that was covered by US copyright law has had its copyright expire before
the 1978 copyright extension, and is therefore public domain, and no
longer coveredby copyright.

Furthermore, before 1978, US copyrights lasted for a fixed number
of years and then could be renewed, once, for another fixed length
of years.  Right before the 1978 extension, I believe the terms were
an initial 28 years and an optional 28-year renewal.

There are many works created after 1922 and before 1950 that
presumably were never renewed, and were therefore also in the
public domain before the 1978 extension was passed. Any such works
are no longer covered by US copyright.

The big problem with these post-1922 works is that it can be difficult
and expensive to prove that a given work was never renewed.


-- 
John Abreau / Executive Director, Boston Linux & Unix
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