Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 15:08:13 EDT From: "one flew over..." Subject: Re: [WRITERS] TECH: Copyright (was: New ) On Mon, 06 Apr 1998 08:30:52 PDT, Roger Smith fretted: :) :) I'm really sensitive about posting my stuff onto e-mail lists or :) websites, because it isn't copyrighted and I'm worried that there :) might be some literary vultures lurking around somewhere. It is copyrighted. As soon as you wrote it, it was copyrighted. And posting it does NOT remove copyright. You can advertise the fact by adding Copyright 1998 [your name here] to the text, but you don't have to. tink an extract from http://web.mit.edu/mbarker/www/faqs/w18858.txt (a little piece about copyright, available among the other FAQs at http://web.mit.edu/mbarker/www/faqs/faqs.html ) The KEY stuff: When you set anything down in any "tangible medium of expression" (e.g., paper, disk, tape, canvas, etc.) IT IS AUTOMATICALLY COPYRIGHTED. That means YOU (and you alone) have the right to distribute, copy, modify, perform, or develop derivative works from it. IT IS YOURS! Even if you post it to a workshop, you have NOT lost your copyright. You have (instead) exercised your exclusive right to copy and distribute it. If you want to develop something based on someone else's material - ask them. It's common courtesy and ensures that YOU don't trip over a lawsuit. You don't want to try one on for the fun of it, honest. Last Words: Your material is protected by copyright as soon as you produce it. You must take deliberate steps to void that right, although you may exercise your copyright by distributing, copying, and modifying the work. Whenever you want to use someone else's work, ask for permission. That isn't so hard to understand, is it?