From: forda@gtephx.UUCP (Andrew Ford @ AGCS, Phoenix, Arizona)
Subject: Re: Net Culture assumptions! (very long!)
Keywords: imminent death of net predicted : -)
Organization: gte
Date: Sun, 26 Jul 1992 21:31:37 GMT

In article <147o8iINN4js@smaug.West.Sun.COM>, dab@ism.isc.com (David A. Butterfield) writes:
> forda@gtephx.UUCP (Andrew Ford @ AGCS, Phoenix, Arizona) writes:
> > anything lacking an explicit copyright notice is given to the
> > public domain
> 
> You are demonstrating your ignorance of U.S. copyright law.

And you are demonstrating your ignorance of usenet!  When you
give something to the public, it becomes public domain.  Posting
to usenet is giving to the public.  (Note the keyword "share" in
the first few lines below: sharing is both giving and taking, 
therefore posting to usenet is giving.)  If you did not know
this, then you should read the entire primer.

The following is from the montly-posted primer on usenet.

->Archive-name: usenet-primer/part1
->Original-author: chuq@apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach)
->Last-change: 5 May 1992 by spaf@cs.purdue.edu (Gene Spafford)
->
->
->              A Primer on How to Work With the USENET Community
->                             Chuq Von Rospach 
->
->
->
->  *** You now have access to Usenet, a network of thousands of
->  computers.  Other documents or your system administrator will provide
->  detailed technical documentation.  This message describes the Usenet
->  culture and customs that have developed over time.  All new users should
->  read this message to find out how Usenet works. ***
->  *** (Old users could read it, too, to refresh their memories.)  ***
->
->  USENET is a large collection of computers that share data with each
->  other.  It is the people on these computers that make USENET worth
->  the effort to read and maintain, and for USENET to function properly
->  those people must be able to interact in productive ways.  This
->  document is intended as a guide to using the net in ways that will
->  be pleasant and productive for everyone.
->
[...]
->		  Be Careful About Copyrights and Licenses
->
->  Once something is posted onto the network, it is *probably* in the
->  public domain unless you own the appropriate rights (most notably,
->  if you wrote the thing yourself) and you post it with a valid
->  copyright notice; a court would have to decide the specifics and
->  there are arguments for both sides of the issue. Now that the US has
->  ratified the Berne convention, the issue is even murkier.  For all
->  practical purposes, though, assume that you effectively give up the
->  copyright if you don't put in a notice.  Of course, the
->  *information* becomes public, so you mustn't post trade secrets that
->  way.  When posting material to the network, keep in mind that
->  material that is UNIX-related may be restricted by the license you
->  or your company signed with AT&T and be careful not to violate it.
->  You should also be aware that posting movie reviews, song lyrics, or
->  anything else published under a copyright could cause you, your
->  company, or members of the net community to be held liable for
->  damages, so we highly recommend caution in using this material.
->
[...]
->Gene Spafford
->Software Engineering Research Center & Dept. of Computer Sciences
->Purdue University, W. Lafayette IN 47907-1398
->Internet:  spaf@cs.purdue.edu	phone:  (317) 494-7825


-- 
"25 States allow anyone to buy a gun, strap it on, and walk down the street with
no permit of any kind: some say it's crazy.  However, 4 out of 5 US murders are 
committed in the other half of the country: so who is crazy?"   -  Andrew Ford
gtephx!forda@enuucp.eas.asu.edu  OR  !uunet!samsung!romed!enuucp!gtephx!forda
Newsgroups: alt.culture.usenet,news.admin,comp.org.eff.talk,misc.legal.computing