On Thu, 10 Jun 1999, Matthew D Moss wrote:
> >as far as US copyright law is defined, this is correct. works are
> >considered copyrighted (?) as soon as they are presented to others.
> >just mark it with the copyright lingo mentioned below. the only reason
> >for registering your copyrights is to be able to prove in court who had
> >it first. that is considered the only real, legal proof.
>
> One scheme I recall hearing to use as proof of date is the following. Take
> the copyrighted work, place it in an envelope, seal it, and mail it to
> yourself. When you receive it back, DO NOT OPEN IT. The cancellation on
> the stamp contains the date and year.
This would be limited proof, but I think it would be better to have it
notarized (which includes a witness). I think most Kinkos copier places
have this service for a very small fee.
> I don't know if would hold up in a court, but it seems reasonable precaution
> if it matters that much to you. I would also guess you could mail yourself
> a floppy disk containing source code (rather than reams of printouts).
Or optionally encrypt it, and use a PGP timestamping service. One was at
http://www.itconsult.co.uk/stamper.htm
last time I checked.
