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1.1     ! root        1: .ds .f copyright.mn
        !             2: .ds h0 "Copyright Law
        !             3: .ds h1
        !             4: .ds h2 %
        !             5: .ds f0 "\*(vr
        !             6: .ds f1
        !             7: .ds f2 "February 26, 1986
        !             8: .mt
        !             9: Copyright Law
        !            10: .au
        !            11: Jordan J. Breslow
        !            12: .ai
        !            13: 1225 Alpine Road, Suite 200
        !            14: Walnut Creek, CA 94596
        !            15: +1 415 932 4828
        !            16: .bt
        !            17: .fn
        !            18: \(co Copyright 1986 Breslow, Redistributed by permission
        !            19: .ef
        !            20: .pg
        !            21: I am an attorney practicing copyright law and computer
        !            22: law.  I read a series of queries in net.legal about
        !            23: copyright law and was dismayed to find that people who
        !            24: had no idea what they were talking about were spreading
        !            25: misinformation over the network.  Considering that the
        !            26: penalties for copyright infringement can include
        !            27: $50,000.00 damages per infringed work, attorneys fees,
        !            28: court costs, criminal fines and imprisonment, and
        !            29: considering that ignorance is no excuse and innocent
        !            30: intent is not even a recognized defense, I cringe to see
        !            31: the network used as a soapbox for the ill-informed.  For
        !            32: that reason, this article will discuss copyright law and
        !            33: license law as they pertain to computer software.
        !            34: .pg
        !            35: My goal is to enable readers to determine when they
        !            36: should be concerned about infringing and when they can
        !            37: relax about it.  I also want to let programmers know how
        !            38: to obtain copyright for their work.  I'll explain the
        !            39: purpose of software licenses, and discuss the effect
        !            40: that the license has on copyright.  For those of you who
        !            41: are programmers, I'll help you decide whether you own
        !            42: the programs you write on the job or your boss owns
        !            43: them.  I will also mention trademark law and patent law
        !            44: briefly, in order to clarify some confusion about which
        !            45: is which.  Incidentally, if you read this entire essay,
        !            46: you will be able to determine whether or not the essay
        !            47: is copyrighted and whether or not you can make a
        !            48: printout of it.
        !            49: .pg
        !            50: This is a long article, and you may not want to
        !            51: read all of it.  Here is an outline to help you decide
        !            52: what to read and what to ignore:
        !            53: .nf
        !            54: .si 10
        !            55: 1.     The Meaning of Copyright from the Viewpoint of the Software User
        !            56: 1.1    A bit of history
        !            57: 1.2    The meaning of \f2copyright\fP
        !            58: 1.3    The meaning of \f2public domain\fP
        !            59: 1.4    A hypothetical software purchase
        !            60: 1.5    Can you use copyrighted software?
        !            61: 1.6    Can you make a backup copy?
        !            62: 1.7    Licenses may change the rules
        !            63: 1.8    Can you modify the program?
        !            64: 1.9    Can you break the copy protection scheme?
        !            65: 1.10   Summary
        !            66: .sp
        !            67: 2.     Copyright Sounds Neat -- How Do I Get One? Or, How Do I Know If
        !            68:        this Program is Copyrighted?
        !            69: 2.1    How do you get a copyright?
        !            70: 2.2    How do you lose a copyright?
        !            71: 2.3    How do you waste a stamp?
        !            72: 2.4    Do you have to register?
        !            73: 2.5    How copyright comes into existence
        !            74: 2.6    The copyright notice
        !            75: 2.7    Advantages of registration
        !            76: 2.8    A test to see if you understand this article
        !            77: .sp
        !            78: 3.     Who Owns The Program You Wrote?
        !            79: 3.1    Introduction
        !            80: 3.2    Programs written as an employee
        !            81: 3.3    Programs written as a contractor
        !            82: .sp
        !            83: 4.     A Brief Word about Licenses
        !            84: 4.1    Why a license?
        !            85: 4.2    Is it valid?
        !            86: .sp
        !            87: .5     I Have a Neat Idea.  Can I Trademark it? What about a Patent?
        !            88: 5.1    Trademark law explained
        !            89: 5.2    Patent law
        !            90: .sp
        !            91: 6.     Conclusion
        !            92: .ei
        !            93: .fi
        !            94: .sp 2
        !            95: .hn 1
        !            96: The Meaning of Copyright from the Viewpoint of the Software User
        !            97: .hn 2
        !            98: A bit of history
        !            99: .pg
        !           100: If you're not interested in history, you can
        !           101: skip this paragraph.
        !           102: .i Modern
        !           103: copyright law first came
        !           104: into existence in 1570,  by an act of Parliament called
        !           105: the Statute of Anne.  Like most laws, it hasn't changed
        !           106: much since.  It was written with books and pictures in
        !           107: mind.  Parliament, lacking the foresight to predict the
        !           108: success of the Intel and IBM corporations, failed to
        !           109: consider the issue of copyrighting computer programs. 
        !           110: .pg
        !           111: At first, courts questioned whether programs could be
        !           112: copyrighted at all.  The problem was that judges
        !           113: couldn't read the programs and they figured the
        !           114: Copyright Law was only meant to apply to things humans
        !           115: (which arguably includes judges) could read without the
        !           116: aid of a machine.  I saw some mythical discussion about
        !           117: that in some of the net.legal drivel.  Let's lay that to
        !           118: rest:  programs are copyrightable as long as there is
        !           119: even a minimal amount of creativity.  The issue was laid
        !           120: to rest with the Software Act of 1980.  That Act
        !           121: modified the Copyright Act (which is a Federal law by
        !           122: the way), in such a way as to make it clear that
        !           123: programs are copyrightable.  The few exceptions to this
        !           124: rule will rarely concern anyone.  The next question to
        !           125: arise was whether a program was copyrightable if it was
        !           126: stored in ROM rather than on paper.   The decision in
        !           127: the Apple v. Franklin case laid that to rest:  it is.
        !           128: .hn 2
        !           129: The meaning of \f2copyright\fP
        !           130: .pg
        !           131: Now, what is copyright?  As it is commonly
        !           132: understood, it is the right to make copies of something
        !           133: -- or to put it the other way around, it is the right to
        !           134: prohibit other people from making copies.  This is known
        !           135: as an exclusive right -- the exclusive right to
        !           136: .i reproduce ,
        !           137: in the biological language of the Copyright
        !           138: Act -- and what most people don't know is that copyright
        !           139: involves not one, not two, but five exclusive rights.   
        !           140: These are (1) the exclusive right to make copies, (2)
        !           141: the exclusive right to distribute copies to the public,
        !           142: (3) the exclusive right to prepare 
        !           143: .i "derivative works"
        !           144: (I'll explain, just keep reading), (4) the exclusive
        !           145: right to perform the work in public (this mainly applies
        !           146: to plays, dances and the like, but it could apply to
        !           147: software), and (5) the exclusive right to display the
        !           148: work in public (such as showing a film).
        !           149: .hn 2
        !           150: The meaning of \f2public domain\fP
        !           151: .pg
        !           152: Before we go any further, what is public
        !           153: domain?  I saw some discussion on the net about public
        !           154: domain software being copyrighted.  Nonsense.  The
        !           155: phrase 
        !           156: .i "public domain,"
        !           157: when used correctly, means the
        !           158: absence of copyright protection.  It means you can copy
        !           159: public domain software to your heart's content.  It
        !           160: means that the author has none of the exclusive rights
        !           161: listed above.  If someone uses the phrase
        !           162: .i "public domain"
        !           163: to refer to
        !           164: .i freeware
        !           165: (software which is copyrighted but is distributed without advance payment
        !           166: but with a request for a donation), he or she is using
        !           167: the term incorrectly.  Public domain means no copyright
        !           168: -- no exclusive rights.
        !           169: .hn 2
        !           170: A hypothetical software purchase
        !           171: .pg
        !           172: Let's look at those exclusive rights from the
        !           173: viewpoint of someone who has legitimately purchased a
        !           174: single copy of a copyrighted computer program.  For the
        !           175: moment, we'll have to ignore the fact that the program
        !           176: is supposedly licensed, because the license changes
        !           177: things.  I'll explain that later.  For now, assume you
        !           178: went to Fred's Diner and Software Mart and bought a
        !           179: dozen eggs, cat food and a word processing program.  And
        !           180: for now, assume the program is copyrighted.
        !           181: .hn 2
        !           182: Can you use copyrighted software?
        !           183: .pg
        !           184: What can you do with this copyrighted
        !           185: software?  Let's start with the obvious:  can you use it
        !           186: on your powerful Timex PC?  Is this a joke?  No.  Prior
        !           187: to 1980, my answer might have been No, you can't use it!
        !           188: .pg
        !           189: People actually pay me for advice like that!  Well
        !           190: think:  you take the floppy disk out of the zip lock
        !           191: baggy, insert it in drive A and load the program into
        !           192: RAM.  What have you just done?  You've made a copy in
        !           193: RAM -- in legalese, you've reproduced the work, in
        !           194: violation of the copyright owner's exclusive right to
        !           195: reproduce.  (I better clarify something here:  the
        !           196: copyright owner is the person or company whose name
        !           197: appears in the copyright notice on the box, or the disk
        !           198: or the first screen or wherever.  It may be the person
        !           199: who wrote the program, or it may be his boss, or it may
        !           200: be a publishing company that bought the rights to the
        !           201: program.  But in any case, it's not you. When you buy a
        !           202: copy of the program, you do not become the copyright
        !           203: owner.  You just own one copy.)
        !           204: .pg
        !           205: Anyway, loading the program into RAM means
        !           206: making a copy.  The Software Act of 1980 addressed this
        !           207: absurdity by allowing you to make a copy if the copy \*(lqis
        !           208: created as an essential step in the utilization of the
        !           209: computer program in conjunction with a machine and ...
        !           210: is used in no other manner ....\*(rq  By the way,
        !           211: somebody tell me what 
        !           212: .i "a machine"
        !           213: means.  If you connect
        !           214: 5 PC's on a network is that 
        !           215: .i "a machine"
        !           216: or
        !           217: .i "several machines" ?
        !           218: A related question is whether or not running
        !           219: software on a network constitutes a performance.  The
        !           220: copyright owner has the exclusive right to do that,
        !           221: remember?
        !           222: .hn 2
        !           223: Can you make a backup copy?
        !           224: .pg
        !           225: OK, so you bought this copyrighted program
        !           226: and you loaded it into RAM or onto a hard disk without
        !           227: the FBI knocking on your door.  Now can you make a
        !           228: backup copy? 
        !           229: .b YES .
        !           230: The Software Act also provided that
        !           231: you can make a backup copy, provided that it \*(lqis for
        !           232: archival purposes only ....\*(rq  What you cannot do,
        !           233: however, is give the archive copy to your friend so that
        !           234: you and your pal both got the program for the price of
        !           235: one.  That violates the copyright owner's exclusive
        !           236: right to distribute copies to the public.  Get it?  You
        !           237: can, on the other hand, give both your original and
        !           238: backup to your friend -- or sell it to him, or lend it
        !           239: to him, as long as you don't retain a copy of the
        !           240: program you are selling.  Although the copyright owner
        !           241: has the exclusive right to distribute (sell) copies of
        !           242: the program, that right only applies to the first sale
        !           243: of any particular copy.  By analogy, if you buy a
        !           244: copyrighted book, you are free to sell your book to a
        !           245: friend.  The copyright owner does not have the right to
        !           246: control resales.  
        !           247: .hn 2
        !           248: Licenses may change the rules
        !           249: .pg
        !           250: At this point, let me remind you that we have
        !           251: assumed that the program you got at the store was sold
        !           252: to you, not licensed to you.  Licenses may change the
        !           253: rules.
        !           254: .hn 2
        !           255: Can you modify the program?
        !           256: .pg
        !           257: Now, you're a clever programmer, and you know
        !           258: the program could run faster with some modifications. 
        !           259: You could also add graphics and an interactive mode and
        !           260: lots of other stuff.  What does copyright law say about
        !           261: your plans?  Well ... several different things,
        !           262: actually.  First, recall that the copyright owner has
        !           263: the exclusive right to make derivative works.  A
        !           264: derivative work is a work based on one or more
        !           265: preexisting works.  It's easy to recognize derivative
        !           266: works when you think about music or books.  If a book is
        !           267: copyrighted, derivative works could include a
        !           268: screenplay, an abridged edition, or a translation into
        !           269: another language.  Derivative works of songs might be
        !           270: new arrangements (like the jazz version of Love Potion
        !           271: Number 9), a movie soundtrack, or a written
        !           272: transcription, or a 
        !           273: .i "long version" , (such as the fifteen
        !           274: minute version of \*(lqWipe Out\*(rq with an extended drum solo
        !           275: for dance parties).  In my opinion, you are making a
        !           276: derivative work when you take the store-bought word
        !           277: processor and modify it to perform differently.  The
        !           278: same would be true if you 
        !           279: .i translated
        !           280: a COBOL program
        !           281: into BASIC.  Those are copyright infringements -- you've
        !           282: horned in on the copyright owner's exclusive right to
        !           283: make derivative works.  There is, however, some
        !           284: breathing room.  The Software Act generously allows you
        !           285: to 
        !           286: .i adapt
        !           287: the code  if the adaptation \*(lqis created as an
        !           288: essential step in the utilization of the computer
        !           289: program in conjunction with a machine ....\*(rq  For
        !           290: example, you might have to modify the code to make it
        !           291: compatible with your machine.  
        !           292: .hn 2
        !           293: Can you break the copy protection scheme?
        !           294: .pg
        !           295: Moving right along, let's assume your store
        !           296: bought program is copy protected, and you'd really like
        !           297: to make a backup copy.  You know this nine-year-old whiz
        !           298: who can crack any copy-protection scheme faster than you
        !           299: can rearrange a Rubix cube.  Is there a copyright
        !           300: violation if he succeeds?  There's room to argue here. 
        !           301: When you try to figure out if something is an
        !           302: infringement, ask yourself, what exclusive right am I
        !           303: violating?  In this case, not the right to make copies,
        !           304: and not the right to distribute copies.  Public
        !           305: performance and display have no relevance.  So the key
        !           306: question is whether you are making a 
        !           307: .i "derivative work" .
        !           308: My answer to that question is, \*(lqI doubt it.\*(rq  On the
        !           309: other hand, I also doubt that breaking the protection
        !           310: scheme was \*(lqan essential step\*(rq in using the program in
        !           311: conjunction with a machine.  It might be a \*(lqfair use,\*(rq
        !           312: but that will have to wait for another article.  Anyone
        !           313: interested in stretching the limits of the \*(lqfair use\*(rq
        !           314: defense should read the Sony 
        !           315: .i Betamax
        !           316: case.
        !           317: .hn 2
        !           318: Summary
        !           319: .pg
        !           320: Let me summarize. Copyright means the
        !           321: copyright owner has the exclusive right to do certain
        !           322: things. Copyright infringement means you did one of
        !           323: those exclusive things (unless you did it within the
        !           324: limits of the Software Act, i.e., as an essential step ....).
        !           325: .hn 1
        !           326: Copyright Sounds Neat -- How Do I Get One?  Or, How Do I Know if this Program is Copyrighted?
        !           327: .hn 2
        !           328: How do you get a copyright?
        !           329: .pg
        !           330: If you've written an original program, what do you have to do to get a
        !           331: copyright? Nothing. You already have one.
        !           332: .hn 2
        !           333: How do you lose a copyright?
        !           334: .pg
        !           335: If you've written an original
        !           336: program, what do you have to do to lose your copyright
        !           337: protection?  Give copies away without the copyright
        !           338: notice.
        !           339: .hn 2
        !           340: How do you waste a stamp?
        !           341: .pg
        !           342: If you mail the program to yourself
        !           343: in a sealed envelope, what have you accomplished? 
        !           344: You've wasted a stamp and an envelope and burdened the
        !           345: postal system unnecessarily.  
        !           346: .hn 2
        !           347: Do you have to register?
        !           348: .pg
        !           349: Do you have to register your program
        !           350: with the U.S. Copyright Office?  No, but it's a damn
        !           351: good idea.
        !           352: .hn 2
        !           353: How copyright comes into existence
        !           354: .pg
        !           355: Copyright protection (meaning the five
        !           356: exclusive rights) comes into existence the moment you
        !           357: .i fix
        !           358: your program in a 
        !           359: .i "tangible medium" .
        !           360: That means
        !           361: write it down, or store it on a floppy disk, or do
        !           362: something similar.  Registration is optional.  The one
        !           363: thing you must do, however, is protect your copyright by
        !           364: including a copyright notice on every copy of every
        !           365: program you sell, give away, lend out, etc.  If you
        !           366: don't, someone who happens across your program with no
        !           367: notice on it can safely assume that it is in the public
        !           368: domain (unless he actually knows that it is not).  
        !           369: .hn 2
        !           370: The copyright notice
        !           371: .pg
        !           372: The copyright notice has three parts.  The
        !           373: first can be either a c with a circle around it (\(co), or the
        !           374: word 
        !           375: .b Copyright
        !           376: or the abbreviation 
        !           377: .b Copr.
        !           378: The c
        !           379: with a circle around it is preferable, because it is
        !           380: recognized around the world; the others are not.  That's
        !           381: incredibly important.  Countries around the world have
        !           382: agreed to recognize and uphold each others' copyrights,
        !           383: but this world-wide protection requires the use of the c
        !           384: in a circle.  On disk labels and program packaging, use
        !           385: the encircled c.  Unfortunately, computers don't draw
        !           386: small circles well, so programmers have resorted to a c
        !           387: in parentheses: (c).  Too bad.  That has no legal
        !           388: meaning.  When you put your notice in the code and on
        !           389: the screen, use 
        !           390: .b Copyright
        !           391: or 
        !           392: .b Copr.
        !           393: if you can't make a circle.
        !           394: .pg
        !           395: The second part of the notice is the \*(lqyear
        !           396: of first publication of the work.\*(rq  
        !           397: .i Publication
        !           398: doesn't mean distribution by Osborne Publishing Co.  It
        !           399: means distribution of copies of the program to the
        !           400: public \*(lqby sale or other transfer of ownership, or by
        !           401: rental, lease, or lending.\*(rq  So when you start handing
        !           402: out or selling copies of your precious code, you are
        !           403: publishing.  Publication also takes place when you
        !           404: merely OFFER to distribute copies to a group for further
        !           405: distribution.  Your notice must include the year that
        !           406: you first did so.
        !           407: .pg
        !           408: The third part of the notice is the name of
        !           409: the owner of the copyright.  Hopefully, that's you, in
        !           410: which case your last name will do.  If your company owns
        !           411: the program -- a legal issue which I will address later
        !           412: in this article -- the company name is appropriate.
        !           413: .pg
        !           414: Where do you put the notice?  The general
        !           415: idea is to put it where people are likely to see it. 
        !           416: Specifically, if you're distributing a human-readable
        !           417: code listing, put it on the first page in the first few
        !           418: lines of code, and hard code it so that it appears on
        !           419: the title screen, or at sign-off, or continuously.  If
        !           420: you're distributing machine-readable versions only, hard
        !           421: code it.  As an extra precaution, you should also place
        !           422: the notice on the gummed disk label or in some other
        !           423: fashion permanently attached to the storage medium.
        !           424: .hn 2
        !           425: Advantages of registration
        !           426: .pg
        !           427: Now, why register the program?  If no one
        !           428: ever rips off your program, you won't care much about
        !           429: registration.  If someone does rip it off, you'll kick
        !           430: yourself for not having registered it.  The reason is
        !           431: that if the program is registered before the
        !           432: infringement takes place, you can recover some big bucks
        !           433: from the infringer, called statutory damages, and the
        !           434: court can order the infringer to pay your attorneys
        !           435: fees.  Registration only costs $10.00, and it's easy to
        !           436: do yourself.  The only potential disadvantage is the
        !           437: requirement that you deposit the first and last 25 pages
        !           438: of your source code, which can be inspected (but not
        !           439: copied) by members of the public.  
        !           440: .hn 2
        !           441: A test to see if you understand this article
        !           442: .pg
        !           443: Now, someone tell me this:  is this article copyrighted?  Can you print it?
        !           444: .hn 1
        !           445: Who Owns The Program You Wrote?
        !           446: .hn 2
        !           447: Introduction
        !           448: .pg
        !           449: The starting point of this analysis is that if you wrote
        !           450: the program, you are the author, and copyright belongs
        !           451: to the author.  HOWEVER, that can change instantly. 
        !           452: There are two common ways for your ownership to shift to
        !           453: someone else:  first, your program might be a \*(lqwork for
        !           454: hire.\*(rq  Second, you might sell or assign your 
        !           455: .i rights
        !           456: in the program, which for our purposes means the
        !           457: copyright.  
        !           458: .hn 2
        !           459: Programs written as an employee
        !           460: .pg
        !           461: Most of the programs which you write at
        !           462: work, if not all of them, belong to your employer. 
        !           463: That's because a program prepared by an employee within
        !           464: the scope of his or her employment is a \*(lqwork for hire,\*(rq
        !           465: and the employer is considered the 
        !           466: .i author .
        !           467: This is more or less automatic if you are an employee -- no
        !           468: written agreement is necessary to make your employer the
        !           469: copyright owner.  By contrast, if you can convince your
        !           470: employer to let you be the copyright owner, you must
        !           471: have that agreement in writing.
        !           472: .pg
        !           473: By the way, before you give up hope of
        !           474: owning the copyright to the program you wrote at work,
        !           475: figure out if you are really an employee.  That is
        !           476: actually a complex legal question, but I can tell you
        !           477: now that just because your boss says you are an employee
        !           478: doesn't mean that it's so.  And remember that if you
        !           479: created the program outside the 
        !           480: .i scope
        !           481: of your job, the
        !           482: program is not a \*(lqwork for hire.\*(rq  Finally, in
        !           483: California and probably elsewhere, the state labor law
        !           484: provides that employees own products they create on
        !           485: their own time, using their own tools and materials. 
        !           486: Employment contracts which attempt to make the employer
        !           487: the owner of those off-the-job 
        !           488: .i inventions
        !           489: are void, at least in sunny California.
        !           490: .hn 2
        !           491: Programs written as a contractor
        !           492: .pg
        !           493: Wait a minute:  I'm an independent
        !           494: contractor to Company X, not an employee.  I come and go
        !           495: as I please, get paid by the hour with no tax withheld,
        !           496: and was retained to complete a specific project.  I
        !           497: frequently work at home with my own equipment.  Is the
        !           498: program I'm writing a \*(lqwork for hire,\*(rq owned by the
        !           499: Company?  Maybe, maybe not.  In California, this area is
        !           500: full of landmines for employers, and gold for
        !           501: contractors.
        !           502: .pg
        !           503: A contractor's program is not a \*(lqwork for
        !           504: hire,\*(rq and is not owned by the company, unless (1) there
        !           505: is a written agreement between the company and the
        !           506: contractor which says that it is, and (2) the work is a
        !           507: .i" commissioned work" .
        !           508: A
        !           509: .i "commissioned work"
        !           510: is one of
        !           511: the following:  (a)  a contribution to a 
        !           512: .i "collective work" ,
        !           513: (b) an audiovisual work (like a movie, and maybe like a video game),
        !           514: (c) a translation, (d) a compilation, (e) an instructional text,
        !           515: (f) a test or answer to a test, or (g) an atlas.  I know you must be
        !           516: tired of definitions, but this is what the real legal
        !           517: world is made of.  An example of a  collective work is a
        !           518: book of poetry, with poems contributed by various
        !           519: authors.  A piece of code which is incorporated into a
        !           520: large program isn't a contribution to a collective work,
        !           521: but a stand-alone program which is packaged and sold
        !           522: with other stand-alone programs could be.   
        !           523: .pg
        !           524: So where are we?  If you are a contract
        !           525: programmer, not an employee, and your program is a
        !           526: .i "commissioned work" ,
        !           527: and you have a written agreement
        !           528: that says that the program is a \*(lqwork for hire\*(rq owned by
        !           529: the greedy company, who owns the program?  That's right,
        !           530: the company.  But guess what?  In California and
        !           531: elsewhere the company just became your employer!  This
        !           532: means that the company must now provide worker's
        !           533: compensation benefits for you
        !           534: .b "AND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE" .
        !           535: .hn 1
        !           536: A Brief Word About Licenses. 
        !           537: .hn 2
        !           538: Why a license?
        !           539: .pg
        !           540: When you get software at the local five and dime, the
        !           541: manufacturer claims that you have a license to use that
        !           542: copy of the program.  The reason for this is that the
        !           543: manufacturer wants to place more restrictions on your
        !           544: use of the program than copyright law places.  For
        !           545: example, licenses typically say you can only use the
        !           546: program on a single designated CPU.  Nothing in the
        !           547: copyright law says that.  Some licenses say you cannot
        !           548: make an archive copy.  The copyright law says you can,
        !           549: remember?  But if the license is a valid license, now
        !           550: you can't.  You can sell or give away your copy of a
        !           551: program if you purchased it, right?  That's permitted by
        !           552: copyright law, but the license may prohibit it.  The
        !           553: more restrictive terms of the license will apply instead
        !           554: of the more liberal copyright rules.
        !           555: .hn 2
        !           556: Is it valid?
        !           557: .pg
        !           558: Is the license valid?  This is hotly debated
        !           559: among lawyers.  (What isn't?  We'll argue about the time
        !           560: of day.)  A few states have passed or will soon pass
        !           561: laws declaring that they are valid.  A few will go the
        !           562: other way.  Federal legislation is unlikely.  My
        !           563: argument is that at the consumer level, the license is
        !           564: not binding because there is no true negotiation (unless
        !           565: a state law says it is binding), but hey that's just an
        !           566: argument and I'm not saying that that's the law.  In any
        !           567: case, I think businesses which buy software will be
        !           568: treated differently in court than consumers.  Businesses
        !           569: should read those licenses and negotiate with the
        !           570: manufacturer if the terms are unacceptable.  
        !           571: .hn 1
        !           572: I Have A Neat Idea. Can I Trademark It?  What About patent?
        !           573: .hn 2
        !           574: Trademark law explained
        !           575: .pg
        !           576: Sorry, no luck.  Trademark law protects names:  names of
        !           577: products and names of services.  (Note that I did not
        !           578: say names of companies.  Company names are not
        !           579: trademarkable.)  If you buy a program that has a
        !           580: trademarked name, all that means is that you can't sell
        !           581: your own similar program under the same name.  It has
        !           582: nothing to do with copying the program.  
        !           583: .hn 2
        !           584: Patent Law
        !           585: .pg
        !           586: Patent law can apply to computer programs,
        !           587: but it seldom does.  The main reasons it seldom applies
        !           588: are practical:  the patent process is too slow and too
        !           589: expensive to do much good in the software world.  There
        !           590: are also considerable legal hurdles to overcome in order
        !           591: to obtain a patent.  If, by chance, a program is
        !           592: patented, the patent owner has the exclusive right to
        !           593: make, use or sell it for 17 years.
        !           594: .hn 1
        !           595: CONCLUSION
        !           596: .pg
        !           597: I know this is a long article,
        !           598: but believe it or not I just scratched the surface. 
        !           599: Hopefully, you'll find this information useful, and
        !           600: you'll stop passing along myths about copyright law.  If
        !           601: anyone needs more information, I can be reached at the
        !           602: address on the first page.
        !           603: Sorry, but I do not usually have
        !           604: access to the network, so you can't reach me there. 
        !           605: .sp
        !           606: Thank you.  JORDAN J. BRESLOW

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