This e-mail is intended as general information only, and is not intended to
be legal advice.
The official fee for registration of a copyright is currently $20, so if you
are a bit savvy and can follow the directions in the Copyright Office
publications, you can do it yourself. On the other hand, if it becomes
commercially important and there are problems with your application that
weren't apparent at the time of filing, your registration might be open to
attack.
Once you file an application, assuming the Copyright Office doesn't raise
any issues or matters of form, then a registration issues in approximately
8-12 months (varies . . )
Filing before publication of the work or within a short time thereafter (was
3 months, but I haven't checked the changes to the copyright laws that went
into effect in December) can be important, as it allows certain statutory
rights that you might not otherwise have (e.g. being able to ask for
attorney fees from infringer, which might be more than the actual damages .
. . )
Regarding source code,there are several methods to use when sending so you
don't have to disclose the entire source code.
The U.S. Copyright Office has a number of brochures available at
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
Look at Copyright Basics, and in the Information Circulars tag, Circular
number 61, Copyright Registration for Computer Programs
Best regards,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] James H. Walters, Patent & Trademark Attorney,
Dellett & Walters, 310 SW 4th Ave. #1101, Portland, Oregon 97204 USA
(503) 224-0115 (voice) (503) 224-7017 (fax)
world wide web http://www.teleport.com/~jwalters
