Re: Manuscript copyright

[Bernard Katz <bkatz@uoguelph.ca>]

I did note that I was relating the Canadian situation in my remarks. We 
have not had to have registration for copyright to be subsumed in a work 
although registration is available (I won't get into why the registration 
does help).  But in the U.S., you may not be aware that there has been a 
change in your law and that registration of the copyright is no longer 
required - for works created since 1992, I *think* - and this was a very 
significant change to U.S. copyright law.  It was done so that the U.S.
could sign the Berne Convention.  Prior to that time, the U.S. was a 
signator only to the Universal Copyright Convention.  Again, the details 
likely are not of wide interest.  So now, as soon as you have started to 
make out your shopping list (or annotate that draft thesis ms.) what you
have written down is protected.  No intervening formality like registra-
tion is required.  Cheers!

Bernard Katz, Head, Special Collections and Library Development
              University of Guelph Library
              Guelph, Ontario
bkatz@uoguelph.ca // (519) 824-4120 X2089 // FAX: (519) 824-6931

On Wed, 2 Oct 1996, Jack Thompson wrote:

> These discussions about what may or may not be appropriate usage of
> annotation ignore the fact that my shopping list has been protected by
> U.S. copyright law since 1976.  I am not required to submit my shopping
> list to the copyright office, unless I expect that they may be required to
> sue someone in my behalf; and then they do not bring suit, but the U.S.
> Justice Department, and then, only if I have registered my shopping list
> and can prove that someone else has used my shopping list.
> 
> Jack C. Thompson
> Thompson Conservation Lab
> Portland, Oregon
> 
> www.teleport.com/~tcl