At 03:39 PM 7/2/99 -0400, Toby L Hekler wrote: > I have also learned that it >is improper to use this symbol unless one has registered one's work with the >proper authority. Hi, Not true in the United States. Regisratation is not required for copyrighted material (all original material is automatically copyright protected) and registration is not required to use the copyright symbol ( © ).The ONLY advantage to registration is that remedies awarded by a court for copyright infringement may include attorney fees and statuatory damages. (See my page "To Claim Infringement & Copyright Remedies at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~mikegoad/copyright13.htm ). Below, I've included a section of the Copyright Code that deals with the copyright notice. Please note that this does not mention any registration requirement for use. This information is directly from the House of Representatives U.S. Code web pages. I've included a link below that to my index of the copyright code pages. Mike TITLE 17 - COPYRIGHTS CHAPTER 4 - COPYRIGHT NOTICE, DEPOSIT, AND REGISTRATION -HEAD- Sec. 401. Notice of copyright: Visually perceptible copies -STATUTE- (a) General Provisions. - Whenever a work protected under this title is published in the United States or elsewhere by authority of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided by this section may be placed on publicly distributed copies from which the work can be visually perceived, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. (b) Form of Notice. - If a notice appears on the copies, it shall consist of the following three elements: (1) the symbol (AF) (the letter C in a circle), or the word ''Copyright'', or the abbreviation ''Copr.''; and (2) the year of first publication of the work; in the case of compilations, or derivative works incorporating previously published material, the year date of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with accompanying text matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful articles; and (3) the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner. (c) Position of Notice. - The notice shall be affixed to the copies in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright. The Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation, as examples, specific methods of affixation and positions of the notice on various types of works that will satisfy this requirement, but these specifications shall not be considered exhaustive. (d) Evidentiary Weight of Notice. - If a notice of copyright in the form and position specified by this section appears on the published copy or copies to which a defendant in a copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be given to such a defendant's interposition of a defense based on innocent infringement in mitigation of actual or statutory damages, except as provided in the last sentence of section 504(c)(2). http://www.rootsweb.com/~mikegoad/code.htm ________________ The Goad Family; Dover, AR, USA; mailto:[email protected] ; http://www.cswnet.com/~mgoad/ ; free DAR Patriot Index Lookups: http://www.cswnet.com/~mgoad/dar.html; Our on-line "bookstore:" http://www.cswnet.com/~sbooks Sponsor (Plus) of RootsWeb - To support cooperative, non-commercial, grass-roots genealogy go to http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html