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Subject:Re. More on copyright From:geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA Date:Thu, 8 Feb 1996 13:24:29 -0600
Richard Mateosian responded to the posting "if the idea
ain't yours, neither is the copyright" with the pithy "that
is incorrect". That needs some elaboration.
You can't copyright ideas, just their implementation. In
this case, the implementation is the writing. You can
certainly copyright the writing, irrespective of the idea's
provenance; in fact, the copyright is automatic once you've
put your name, the circled c (and/or the word "copyright")
and the date on the manuscript, though you can register the
copyright for better legal protection.
How much of the copyright you must give up subsequently to
get published is an entirely different issue.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)}
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: If I didn't commit it in print in one of our
reports, it don't represent FERIC's opinion.
