Diff. btwn ™ / ®/ © and howto whydo?

[postitlord]

If I want to copyright something in the software world, how do I go about it? I once assumed you had to go 'register' at 'someplace' to make it legally recognized as your and yours alone. But my computer sciences teacher said last year that simply putting Copyrigt © 1999 WhoEver -- and that's not with (c) -- is sufficient to copyright any software you make. Is this true? Is this true for webpages?

And, could someone tell me in laymans terms, dum it down for me, say in plain english, the difference between ™Trademark ® Registered © Copyright

[Jason]

Hey, Great questions. Well, first, about the dirrerences between the three items you mentioned:

™Trademark - This is usually a logo or a name that a company uses. The ™ means that they intend to register it, or that it is in the process of being registered.

® Registered - A ™Trademark that has completed the registration process.

Now a copyright is used to protect larger pieces of work such as:

a) works of art (2 or 3 dimensional), b) photos, pictures, graphic designs, drawings and other forms of images; c) songs, music and sound recordings of all kinds; d) books, manuscripts, publications and other written works; and e) plays, movies, shows, and other performance arts.

As far as gaining a copyright goes, it is not necessary to make any filings, however there are some advantages, which can be seen here: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ1.html#cr

However placing the © Copyright will work in a pinch.

[postitlord]

What's the difference between ® (Registered) and © (Copyright)? When is it advantageous to use ® over ©? Does one ever use ®© together? Are the two related, like does one Register to achieve an official government recognized Copyright (that sounds wrong...).

It seems like Registerd has no use; or appears to be of lesser value than a Copyright.

[torrent]

In short:

Copyright - is free and inherent in any original work that you produce, be it software, books, poems, artwork, absolutely anything. By inherent I mean it is there whether or not you choose to declare it within the work (it's always a good idea to do so). There is a Copyright Office and this is for those who want to register their work to prove that they are the original owners later on. You have to pay for this. In all honesty you can achieve the same by mailing a copy of the work by registered mail (not sure what this is called in the US).

Trademarks and Registered Trademarks - are there to protect corporate identity. For example, Coca Cola is a registered trademark, you cannot use it to market any merchandise. The same with Macromedia, Ford, MacDonalds, you get the picture. The difference between the (R) and (TM) is that (TM) delcares to the public you have a claim on a mark (words, phrase, etc) while (R) means that your mark is registered. If your mark is registered then you will be able to bring hefty law suits against those who infringe or misuse it.

Hope this helps.

[postitlord]

Yep that does help indeed :D
I frequently hear about mailing yourself said item to get a official body recording it's date, and that seems just fine and dandy.

Continuing for clarity I ask, do you have to keep the work closed in the envolope, the proof being it was never opened, or the can tear it out because the proof is in the post office books, recorded as a delivery on a certain date in history (I think this one)?

It seems (C) is more personal, singular, and that (R) is corporal, corporate identities... Do people out there use Copyright and Registered on the same thing, or is that ridiculous-talk?

[Jason]

I think you're still missing the major difference between the two.

Copyright - Protection for a large body of work.

Registered/Trademarked - Protection for something tiny (logo, jingle, catch phrase). This is usually something to identify a company by.

Re: Mail - I don't think the post office keeps a database of all the mail that you receive, so if you want proof, it would need to be sealed.

[postitlord]

Ohhh Okay! Clear as Windex-ed Glass :thumbup: