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Comments · 6

  1. Re:hire a lawyer IS a practicle step. by vantar · · Score: 1 · on How To Survive a Patent Challenge?

    This whole mail it to yourself/poor mans copyright thing is not a form of protection. At least this is the case in the US Source: For a much more detailed breakdown of why the mail it to yourself approach is bad I would recommend this page

  2. Re:Evil. -- Make it prior-art not a patent! by the_other_chewey · · Score: 1 · on Google Patents Its Home Page

    In the UK to establish copyright you used to be able to send yourself a stamp addressed envelope containing the relevant work. So long as it remained unopened the postmark served as both a mark of authenticity and also as a timestamp.

    Not really, no. The Royal Mail will gladly deliver your unsealed empty envelope to you, complete with postmark, and ready to
    receive any content you want to "prove" is yours. You'll need at least some credible witness confirming your story.

    Also, http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-mans-copyright/ and http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp

  3. Worthless advice, here's why. by Yoozer · · Score: 5, Informative · on Open Source Patent Donations?

    Moreover, also write the idea, go to post office and mail it (sealed) to yourself (and may be also another one to your trusted legal advisor) by registered mail.
    Do not do this. See http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-mans-copyright/
    This trick works with anything else, too, so it worthless advice.
  4. Depends on what it is - do NOT mail it to yourself by Garwulf · · Score: 1 · on How Do I Secure An IP, While Leaving Options Open?

    Well, taking a look at what your question is, and giving it a good read, there isn't a whole lot I can suggest that hasn't been suggested already. I can update a couple of things, though.

    First of all, you seem to be operating under the idea that IP laws are restrictive of what you can do with your own IP. This actually isn't the case. Under copyright law, you can do whatever you want with your own IP. Protecting it, or more specifically, the terms under which you want to share it, on the other hand, is another matter, and how you'll go about it will depend on what it is.

    As far as digital timestamps go when it comes to legal proof, that's a tricky one. I honestly don't know if there's a digital proof that will stand up in court. In fact, I'm almost certain there isn't. For that, you'd want to consult a lawyer, particularly since there are a lot of ways a digital timestamp can be faked, and I am not actually a lawyer (I'm a pro writer, but that means I have a working knowledge of the law, rather than an encyclopedic one).

    When it comes to copyrightable materials, mailing it to yourself is NOT considered legal proof of copyright. There are too many ways to fake it, and there is not a single court case, at least not one I have ever heard of, where it was considered to be proof. For more information, see this site: http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-mans-copyri ght/

    However, there are two steps you can take that will secure your copyright. The first is very simple - place on the IP "Copyright (or just the © symbol) [year] [name]," and then list the rights that are reserved or granted. So, an example, using my own name, could be "Copyright 2007 Robert B. Marks. Reproduction under the Open Source License is permitted, all other rights reserved" or "© 2007 Robert B. Marks..." That secures your copyright in regards to the Berne Convention. However, for proper protection, that is not enough - you need to register the copyright with your country's copyright office. There may be a digital way to register it with the office, but that registration is still necessary if you're worried about protecting it. This site seems to be a good general reference: http://www.copyrightauthority.com/

    (Please note that while you can copyright a story, a piece of music, or a work of art, you CANNOT copyright an idea. Copyright just doesn't work like that. An idea falls under patent law, and has different rules.)

    As far as an invention goes, that would be a patent of some sort, and you would want to go through your local patent office. Unfortunately, I don't know a great deal about it except for a few bizarre cases of patents gone mad in the US. However, the patent office will have information about how to patent your invention, so you'll want to consult them.

    Should somebody violate your copyright, it is important to be methodical in dealing with them. Keep in mind that it might eventually get to a court case, in which case your own conduct will also be under the magnifying glass. I would suggest beginning with a gentle but firm letter or email informing them that they are infringing and asking them to stop. If they don't, then consult a lawyer and move on from there. Whatever you do, document everything.

    And, if I don't miss my guess, that's it in a nutshell...

  5. Depends on what it is - do NOT mail it to yourself by Garwulf · · Score: 1 · on How Do I Secure An IP, While Leaving Options Open?

    Well, taking a look at what your question is, and giving it a good read, there isn't a whole lot I can suggest that hasn't been suggested already. I can update a couple of things, though.

    First of all, you seem to be operating under the idea that IP laws are restrictive of what you can do with your own IP. This actually isn't the case. Under copyright law, you can do whatever you want with your own IP. Protecting it, or more specifically, the terms under which you want to share it, on the other hand, is another matter, and how you'll go about it will depend on what it is.

    As far as digital timestamps go when it comes to legal proof, that's a tricky one. I honestly don't know if there's a digital proof that will stand up in court. In fact, I'm almost certain there isn't. For that, you'd want to consult a lawyer, particularly since there are a lot of ways a digital timestamp can be faked, and I am not actually a lawyer (I'm a pro writer, but that means I have a working knowledge of the law, rather than an encyclopedic one).

    When it comes to copyrightable materials, mailing it to yourself is NOT considered legal proof of copyright. There are too many ways to fake it, and there is not a single court case, at least not one I have ever heard of, where it was considered to be proof. For more information, see this site: http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-mans-copyri ght/

    However, there are two steps you can take that will secure your copyright. The first is very simple - place on the IP "Copyright (or just the © symbol) [year] [name]," and then list the rights that are reserved or granted. So, an example, using my own name, could be "Copyright 2007 Robert B. Marks. Reproduction under the Open Source License is permitted, all other rights reserved" or "© 2007 Robert B. Marks..." That secures your copyright in regards to the Berne Convention. However, for proper protection, that is not enough - you need to register the copyright with your country's copyright office. There may be a digital way to register it with the office, but that registration is still necessary if you're worried about protecting it. This site seems to be a good general reference: http://www.copyrightauthority.com/

    (Please note that while you can copyright a story, a piece of music, or a work of art, you CANNOT copyright an idea. Copyright just doesn't work like that. An idea falls under patent law, and has different rules.)

    As far as an invention goes, that would be a patent of some sort, and you would want to go through your local patent office. Unfortunately, I don't know a great deal about it except for a few bizarre cases of patents gone mad in the US. However, the patent office will have information about how to patent your invention, so you'll want to consult them.

    Should somebody violate your copyright, it is important to be methodical in dealing with them. Keep in mind that it might eventually get to a court case, in which case your own conduct will also be under the magnifying glass. I would suggest beginning with a gentle but firm letter or email informing them that they are infringing and asking them to stop. If they don't, then consult a lawyer and move on from there. Whatever you do, document everything.

    And, if I don't miss my guess, that's it in a nutshell...

  6. Re:What an idiot! by Quarters · · Score: 1 · on GPL Hard to Enforce?
    In actuality you don't have to put "Copyright 1999 Linda Jones" if you are only distributing your code in countries that signed the Berne treaty. Berne did away with formalties such as 100% proper copyright notices. Having such a line in your code certainly helps in determining who has copyright, but it isn't required. Copyright is assumed to be 100% granted to the author of a work from the time of creation, with our without any copyright notice.

    When using a copyright notice (remember, not all nations are signatories to Berne)it is redunant to say "Copyright © 1999, blah blah blah", as "Copyright" and © are synonymous. One or the other will suffice.

    You should also state "All rights reserved." If you don't then your copyright notice may not be valid in some countries. By reserving all rights, even if you are allowing a work to be copied, you retain the right(s) to prosecute anyone who uses your work in an improper way. If you don't state your reservation of rights then you might be leaving a door open for infringement.

    Copyright <year(s)> <author(s)>. All rights reserved.
    or
    © <year(s)> <author(s)>. All rights reserved.
    Are valid copyright statements for most all countries that require them. One of those should appear in your work somewhere if you expect your code to be used in countries that require a copyright notice.

    You can read more about this at bamboweb.com and at CopyrightAuthority.com