Use of the copyright symbol.

[Pat Costello <patrickcostello eircom net>]

Malcolm,

The suggestion that I made was as follows:

Copyright [copyright date] [copyright owner]

Are you saying that the use of the "c in a circle" symbol is also 
required in the UCC context, even if the word "Copyright" is used? If 
that is the case, then I can request the Sun legal eagles for some legal 
advice.

Pat

> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 15 Nov 2002 12:26:55 +1100
> From: Malcolm Tredinnick <malcolm commsecure com au>
> To: gnome-doc-list gnome org
> Subject: Re: Copyright notices.
>
> On Thu, Nov 14, 2002 at 10:53:38AM +0000, Pat Costello wrote:
>  
>
> > There was a string on the developers mailing list that related to the proper use 
> > of copyright notices. See attached. 
> >
> > I had a look at GNOME Help manuals and I noticed that we are using the following 
> > format: 
> >
> > "Copyright" <copyright symbol> [copyright date] [copyright owner]
> >
> > According to my researches, the format should be one of the following: 
> >
> > Where Space is Not a Problem: 
> > =============================
> >
> > "Copyright" [copyright date] [copyright owner]
> >
> > or
> >
> > Where Space is Limited: 
> > =======================
> >
> > <copyright symbol> [copyright date] [copyright owner]
> >
> > Therefore, what we are using right now is overkill. I suggest we change the 
> > format to the first one above, namely the space-is-not-a-problem format. This 
> > looks like a style sheet change. 
> >    
>
> Can you clarify what your research applies to here?
>
> Because from work I have done previously, it is trickier than this.
>
> The "C in a circle" mark is required for countries that subscribe to the
> Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), but it is not required under the
> Berne convention. Under the Berne Convention and the World Trade
> Organisation Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
> Rights (TRIPS), the signatory countries are required to extend the same
> privileges to other countries a they do their own citizens.
>
> This means, for example, since Australia does not require a strict form
> of copyright notice (any notice clearly stating the intent that the
> document is copyrighted by a certain group or individual is sufficient),
> I can put such a notice on and I am protected internationally under the
> Berne and TRIPS agreements. However, I need to put "C in a circle" to be
> valid in a country that is a signatory to the UCC, but not Berne or
> TRIPS. Following the US law here, for example, is insufficient for me,
> since I am not a "national, citizen or resident of that country" (the
> phrasing used by the Berne convention).
>
> I do not know which countries GNOME is used in that are UCC, but not
> Berne convention signatories and not members of the WTO, but I guess
> there must be some.
>
>
>  
>
> > ----------------Attachment from desktop-devel-list gnome org-----------------
> > On 14 Nov 2002 Pat opined: 
> >
> > The view from the documentation perspective...
> >
> > Thanks for bringing up this point. I did a bit of research and here are my 
> > findings: 
> >
> > - A discrete piece of software or documentation should always contain a proper 
> > copyright notice. A statement of the bleating obvious you say, well, the key 
> > word here is "proper". 
> >
> > - A proper copyright notice consists of the following: 
> >
> > 	o 	The word "Copyright" or, if there is a shortage of space, the 		
> > 		copyright symbol, which is a C in a closed circle. 
> >
> > 		NOTE: (c) has no legal weight. Never use (c). 
> > 	
> > 	o 	The year of first publication of the work, usually the year of 
> > 		FCS.
> > 		
> > 	o 	The owner of the copyright. 
> >    
>
> Again, I dispute the strict correctness of this in all countries, given
> the various conventions and treaties cited above, but I think people are
> required to satisfy the laws of their own country to be provided with
> protection under those agreements.
>
> I am in no way a lawyer, but I did spend quite a bit of time looking at
> this a couple of years ago, from the viewpoint of what was required from
> me as an Australian and how that affected my international rights and
> privileges. The Australian Attorney General's Department has quite a
> number of available publications on this and they were my main
> reference.
>
> This is not helping reach a resolution on this, but I would prefer we
> hold off, rather than make a wrong decision.
>
> Malcolm
>
>