At 01:57 2/21/00 , Paul D. Farrar wrote:
>Assert copyright, which your statement doesn't.
>
>Copyright (c) 2000 by [Your real name, not a nickname.]
> ^
> the copyright symbol.
Yes, this makes it clearer. The additional words "all rights reserved"
have meaning and can provide additional protection in some other countries.
Note that the U.S. no longer requires a clearly marked notice to assert
rights for works first published after a specific date (March 1, 1989 ??)
but it is still *highly* recommended because other countries may consider
it an "omission" if it's not asserted.
Paul, I will _readily_ admit nit-picking on this point, but if you use the
ASCII form of the symbol, it should be "(C)" with a capital "C" not a lower
case. I don't know of any court that has thrown out a copyright assertion
citing the lower case version "(c)" as an omission of notice though.
Within the U.S. the word "Copyright" or the accepted international
abbreviation "Copr." or the symbol "©" or the ASCII equivalent "(C)" are
all acceptable separately and individually. What must also be included for
a proper notice is the first year of publication and the name of the
copyright holder.
In spite of asserting rights, there are those who can and will *steal*
images off of the web and use them. Their strategy is either being in a
different country, citing exemption under stretching the "fair use"
definition (beyond belief at times), knowing that it takes money and time
to file a civil suit, and that few of us would set out on that quest.
However, a commercial use (clearly for profit) violation *can* result in
criminal prosecution under U.S. Federal Law (with some pretty stiff penalties).
Anyway, details on the proper form of copyright notice for the U.S. are
found in a circular from the Library of Congress (a "pdf" file requiring
Adobe Acrobat) downloadable here:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ03.pdf
Other countries have other laws and possibly other forms and verbage
requirements. If you're not in the U.S. "your mileage may vary" using the
U.S. form of notice.
-- John
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