| |
Copyright Your Software
by
Stephen Fishman
Quality Paperback & CD (Windows/Mac), 384 pages, 7 x 9 inches
Publisher: Nolo; ISBN: 0873377192; Pub date: Sept 2001; ©2001, '98, '94
Catalog#
7192-2
List
price: $34.95
Sorry,
Now Out of Print, Not Available
The best way to protet
your software is to register your copyright. If you don't, you could face an
upghill battle when dealing with somenone who is "borrowing liberally"
from your creation.
Copyright Your Software
tells you everything you need to know about software copyright protection. It
provides step-by-step instructions and all the forms you need to register your
work with the Copyright Office.
Copyright Your Software
covers the latest developments in this ever-changing field and includes the
new copyright-office forms on the included CD (Windows/Macintosh). Everyone
in the software industry -- developers, programmers, publishers and authors
-- should have this book.
|
In
plain English, the book explains:
|
- Who owns a copyright
- How
to sell a copyright to publishers and clients
- What
your copyright notice should say and where it should appear
- The
scope of the copyright protection
- What
to do about infringement
- How to recognize a derivative
work
- How to protect interfaces,
databases and more
- How and when to use software
licenses
- International copyright protection
|
|
Table
of Contents
|
1. How to Use This Book
2. Copyright Basics
3. Copyright Notice
4. Copyright Registration: The Basics
5. The Registration Process
6. After You‘ve Mailed In Your Registration
7. Scope of Copyright Protection for Software
8. Derivative Works and Use of Preexisting Material
9. Computer Databases
10. Multimedia Programs
11. Initial Copyright Ownership
12. Transferring Software Copyright Ownership and Use Rights
13. Software Copyright Infringement: What It Is, What to Do About It, How
to Avoid It
14. International Software Copyright Protection
15. Other Legal Protections for Software
16. Help Beyond This Book
|
|
List
of Forms
|
Blank Forms
Copyright Application for Software
Form PA
Form VA
Request for Special Handling
Form_____/CON (Continuation Sheet for Application Forms)
Form CA
Search Request Form
Document Cover Sheet
Sample Forms
Unpublished computer program
created by a single author; not a work made for hire
Published work made for hire; computer program and document registered
together
Published computer game created by joint authors; all rights transferred
to publisher; screen displays listed in Nature of Authorship statement
Published derivative work made for hire; a new version of previously published
program
Documentation registered separately from computer program
Computer game
Published multimedia program; work made for hire
Computer database; group registration for patent database updated weekly
|
|
Some
excerpts from the book...
|
Potential Problems Arising
From Copyright Registration |
|
Let's assume we've convinced you
that registration is wise. Before you register, you should know about a possible
down side to making your work a public record by registering it with the U.S.
Copyright Office: Your copyright application and at least some part of your
work become available for public inspection when you register. Others will
have the opportunity to examine your work. They can view everything you send
to the Copyright Office, although they cannot normally make copies.
If making your material public
in this way concerns you, make sure to read Chapter 5, Section D. There we
address this concern in detail and suggest several practical ways to alleviate
it. Those readers who plan to maintain the trade secret status of their work
will also want to read Chapter 15, Other Legal Protections for Software.
We believe that, in most situations,
the danger that copyright registration will disclose your work is usually
more fanciful than real, assuming you take several routine self-protection
steps described in Chapter 5, Section D.
|
|
3. Timely Registration Makes It
Easier to Win Money in Court
The benefits discussed in Section
2 above are available whenever you register. However, if you register either
before an infringement of your work begins or within three months of publishing
the work, you'll become entitled to two additional benefits if you have to
sue an infringer and prevail in the case:
- the court can order the other
side to pay your attorney fees and court costs, and
- you may elect to have the court
award statutory damages (special damages of up to $100,000 per infringement)
without your having to establish what damage you actually suffered.
Details on how to fulfill the time
limit requirements for registering a work are discussed in detail in Section
C, below.
From a real-life standpoint the
potential to recover attorney fees can determine whether you can afford to
sue. In many copyright infringement cases, attorney fees exceed the potential
benefits of winning the lawsuit. However, if your case is a strong one, the
infringer has the apparent ability to pay and attorney fees can be collected
because you promptly registered, a lawyer may well take your case for little
or no money down and hope to collect from your opponent. ...
|
|
About
The Author...
|
Attorney Stephen Fishman received
his law degree from the University of Southern California in 1979. After stints
in government and private practice, he became a full-time legal writer in
1983. He has helped write and edit over a dozen reference books for attorneys.
He is the author of Software Development:
A Legal Guide, The Copyright Handbook,
Consultant & Independent Contractor Agreements and Hiring Independent Contractors:
The Employee's Legal Guide.
|
|
Reviews
|
I recommend the book Copyright
Your Software, by attorney Stephen Fishman. Read it before seeking a copyright
lawyer.
-- Don Crabb
Chicago Sun-Times
If you think you have a hot program,
at the very least invest in Copyright Your Software.
-- Associated Press
|
Copyright Your Software
Our price: $31.45
Catalog#
7192-2
|
|