Description
This article is from the rec.arts.sf.composition FAQ, by Geoffrey
Wiseman loki@mgl.ca with numerous contributions by others.
3.4 Do I need a copyright notice? (Science Fiction Composition)
No.
Stevens R. Miller summarized the issue quite well, so I'll quote
directly:
By international law (known as "the Berne Convention"),
any work is protected by copyright law upon its fixation
in a tangible medium. The author of the work owns the
copyright unless the work was created for hire. No notice
or symbol is required on the work. Some legal advantages
apply when a notice is present, however, and the law defines
a valid notice to look like:
Copyright 1996 by Stevens R. Miller
The "C" in a circle and other variations are also legal, but
the above is always valid. In some countries, the phrase "all
rights reserved" should accompany the notice. In the United
States, the phrase adds nothing, but it also takes nothing
away.
To commence a suit for infringement, the copyright must be
registered. However, registration can occur after
infringement.
Copyright lasts for the duration of the author's life, plus a
term of years that Congress periodically has increased. In
1994, the term was fifty years. Anonymous works, joint works,
works owned by corporations, and others all have rules
governing them that vary the above, but the main point is:
Once you've written it down somewhere, you have a copyright
to it.
Lisa Leutheuser (eal@umich.edu) adds the following caveat:
If you're sending something through e-mail, don't take the
chance that the recipient's e-mail software can handle
anything beyond ASCII text, such as that fancy c-in-a-circle.
Use "Copyright." Same said for fax machines. Why take the
chance that the fax machine will not clearly scan the little
c-in-a-circle?
Basically, it's easiest just to include the full word. (C) and
the full copyright symbol are harder to reproduce and often
won't carry through all transmission media.
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