Appendix G: How to Copyright Code


Inserting the Copyright notice in our code is sufficient for securing Copyright. Refer to Chapter 11, ‚“Legalese. ‚½ However, some developers may prefer to formally copyright their code by registering it with the United States Copyright Office. This appendix lists the steps required to register copyrighted code. It is a fairly simple process. You just have to figure out what form to fill out and how much of your code actually needs to be included.

Note ‚  

This is the process to register code within the United States. Please contact your country ‚ s copyright authority for more information on this type of process in your location.

Why Register?

Copyright law is evolutionary. It continues to evolve as our new technologies change the way we create and distribute copyrightable works. It ‚ s only since 1978 that ownership of copyright begins at the instant of creation and since 1989 displaying the copyright notice symbol ( ‚ ) on protected works is not required. However, both registration and notice provide certain benefits. You can think of registering a copyrightable work with the US Copyright Office as having an inexpensive insurance policy. This policy provides procedural protections in an infringement lawsuit. Registration and using the ‚ symbol also act as a preventative measure, providing notice to potential infringers. This extra layer of protection may also encourage third parties to license the use of the copyright work, providing additional revenue to the owner.

The second reason to register is that it is easy and inexpensive. The steps in the next sections demonstrate just how easy it is.




Deploying Visual FoxPro Solutions
Deploying Visual FoxPro Solutions
ISBN: 1930919328
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 232

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