On 2/21/06, Junio C Hamano <junkio@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> Keith is saying that unlike ciecle-c, (c) is meaningless. While
> he is right about that, it does not matter, as long as he is
> talking about "legal meaning in the US". It is my understanding
> that spelled out "Copyright" (or its abbreviation, "Copr.")
> weighs as much as the circle-c mark.
>
> And it matters even less these days. US law traditionally
> required copyright notice to be protected, but after 1989 US
> Copyright Act, made in line with Berne convention, the notice is
> not even necessary. It used to be that you would want circle-c,
> Copyright and "All Rights Reserved", if you really wanted to be
> anal. Buenos Aires signatories are all Berne members these
> days, it became just obsolete inertia.
Not entirely useless though. It serves as an indication of who to
contact for permission to copy. It's not as good as it should be
("which of the 35 L.Torvalds in the phonebook does this mean?").
Copyright law reform proponents do sometimes talk of a central
database with contact details for copyright owners and other measures
to facilitate brokerage of licenses.
It also serves as a reminder of the need for a license, though legally
it's not required. Just like a lock in the door, while often easy to
pick or crack open and definitely not required, reminds people that
trespassing is a crime.
Bah, social mores, laws and other vices of humanity...
martin
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