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As far at I know, you don't even need a copyright statement anymore. Everything is copyright by default.

by amanaplanacanal 4y ago

monkpit 4y ago
This was my understanding as well, I was surprised that the article didn’t end with the advice to remove it altogether.
- lapcat 4y ago
  You don't need a copyright notice for legal reasons, but it can deter boneheads who mistakenly believe that anything without a copyright notice can be copied freely.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    I doubt it deters people who are just going to grab it anyway.
wongarsu 4y ago
Which is how it has been for most of the Western world for well over a century. Automatic copyright one of the core principles of the 1886 Berne Convention, but the US only joined in 1989.
- ghaff 4y ago
  It surprises people that the US had, relatively speaking, more copyright hoops for creators to jump through than most of the rest of the world prior to harmonizing with the Berne Convention.
xoa 4y ago
I thought everything is copyrighted by default, but in the US at least if you don't register it limits your legal remedies somewhat (no mandatory minimums and such)?
- JohnFen 4y ago
  Here's the summary of how my attorney explained it (IANAL, obviously, and may be misremembering, so consult your own attorney). In the US, copyright is a thing that applies the moment you have put a work into a fixed, tangible form. Actual publication is not required. If your work is copied, you can sue. But if you register it, you have some additional power and -- perhaps most importantly -- you don't have to worry about a court fight over when the copyright term began. A registered copyright began at the date in the copyright registration. There can be no argument about that. Some of the other benefits... if you register your copyright, you can sue for statutory damages rather than having to demonstrate actual damages and you gain the ability to recover legal expenses.

As far at I know, you don't even need a copyright statement anymore. Everything is copyright by default.

monkpit 4y ago

This was my understanding as well, I was surprised that the article didn’t end with the advice to remove it altogether.

lapcat 4y ago
You don't need a copyright notice for legal reasons, but it can deter boneheads who mistakenly believe that anything without a copyright notice can be copied freely.
- ghaff 4y ago
  I doubt it deters people who are just going to grab it anyway.

wongarsu 4y ago

Which is how it has been for most of the Western world for well over a century. Automatic copyright one of the core principles of the 1886 Berne Convention, but the US only joined in 1989.

ghaff 4y ago
It surprises people that the US had, relatively speaking, more copyright hoops for creators to jump through than most of the rest of the world prior to harmonizing with the Berne Convention.

xoa 4y ago

I thought everything is copyrighted by default, but in the US at least if you don't register it limits your legal remedies somewhat (no mandatory minimums and such)?

JohnFen 4y ago
Here's the summary of how my attorney explained it (IANAL, obviously, and may be misremembering, so consult your own attorney). In the US, copyright is a thing that applies the moment you have put a work into a fixed, tangible form. Actual publication is not required. If your work is copied, you can sue. But if you register it, you have some additional power and -- perhaps most importantly -- you don't have to worry about a court fight over when the copyright term began. A registered copyright began at the date in the copyright registration. There can be no argument about that. Some of the other benefits... if you register your copyright, you can sue for statutory damages rather than having to demonstrate actual damages and you gain the ability to recover legal expenses.