Author: Slater Wold
Date: 23:19:18 04/28/02
There was a discussion earlier about copyrights, and how long they are effective. After some research, I have found that; The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, signed into law on October 27, 1998, amends the provisions concerning duration of copyright protection. Effective immediately, the terms of copyright are generally extended for an additional 20 years. Specific provisions are as follows: * For works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection will endure for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. In the case of a joint work, the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author’s death. For anonymous and pseudonymous works and works made for hire, the term will be 95 years from the year of first publication or 120 years from the year of creation, whichever expires first; * For works created but not published or registered before January 1, 1978, the term endures for life of the author plus 70 years, but in no case will expire earlier than December 31, 2002. If the work is published before December 31, 2002, the term will not expire before December 31, 2047; * For pre-1978 works still in their original or renewal term of copyright, the total term is extended to 95 years from the date that copyright was originally secured. For further information see Circular 15a. Well, first off, I doubt that Fritz 1.0 was copyrighted in the USA. The previous statement ONLY applies to the USA copyrights. What about works that are created in other countries? The answer; Any work that is protected by U.S. copyright law can be registered. This includes many works of foreign origin. All works that are unpublished, regardless of the nationality of the author, are protected in the United States. Works that are first published in the United States or in a country with which we have a copyright treaty or that are created by a citizen or domiciliary of a country with which we have a copyright treaty are also protected and may therefore be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. See Circular 38a for the status of specific countries. By reading Circular 38a, we find that any work written and/or copyrighted in Germany holds the SAME copyright laws in the US. What about upgrades though? If we have version 1.0, and then version 2.0 hits the streets, does version 1.0 no longer have a copyright? The answer; You may make a new claim in your work if the changes are substantial and creative -- something more than just editorial changes or minor changes. This would qualify as a new derivative work. For instance, simply making spelling corrections throughout a work does not warrant a new registration -- adding an additional chapter would. See Circular 14 for further information. Therefore, the danger is NOT that version 1.0 is protected. The danger is if the author fails to protect his NEW version. So if Fritz 1.0 was copyrighted, the copyright will expire 70 years after the author is dead. And more than likely, most of us will be dead too. ;)
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