TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Copyright Information (Long) From:R2 Innovations <R2innovations -at- MYNA -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 22 Jan 1997 08:01:18 +0000
>Geoff Hart wrote:
>Cheryl Kidder wondered what information is required to
>establish copyright. According to the Canadian government's
>Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the simple act of
>publishing provides you with copyright. Adding the (C)
>symbol and the word "copyright" to your notice grants you
>certain rights to damages in a lawsuit; without this, you
>can prevent infringement, but not obtain certain statutory
>damages (i.e., fines).
I have just self-published a book here in Canada and can offer
first-hand knowledge of the copyright process for this country. By
virture of the fact that you have written something, it is
copyrighted. The problem arises in enforcing your rights under the
copyright legislation.
In a copyright infringement case, your, the copyright holder, must
show that the other party should have known that the piece was
protected by copyright in order to be assessed any compensatory
damages. The best way to do this is to register your copyright with
the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
By registering your work (it costs $35.00) it is given a registration
number and you receive a pretty registration certificate. Since you
can produce this certificate in a court of law puts much weight to
your claim for damages in the case of copyright infringement.
Information on the Canadian registration process is available from:
Canadian Intellectual Propert Office
Industry Canada
Place du Portage, Phase I
50 Victoria Street
Hull,Quebec K1A 0C9
While I am no conversant on the process to follow in the US, you can
get all the information you need by contacting:
Register of Copyrights
Copyright Office
Library of Congress
Washington D.C. 20559-6000
(I'm waiting on my information package at this time, so I can't give
you any more info)
Another thing you should do is get an International Standard Book
Number (ISBN) number for your book. This greatly assists in having
your book entered on cataloguing lists around the world, and provides
book stores with a link directly to you if you self-publish.
Bye the way, the title of my book is "Documenting ISO 9000:
Guidelines for Compliant Documentation", ISBN 0-9681655-0-8.
For more information contact me directly at r2innovations -at- myna -dot- com
Ralph E. Robinson
R2 Innovations
TECHWR-L (Technical Communication) List Information: To send a message
to 2500+ readers, e-mail to TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU -dot- Send commands
to LISTSERV -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU (e.g. HELP or SIGNOFF TECHWR-L).
Search the archives at http://www.documentation.com/ or search and
browse the archives at http://listserv.okstate.edu/archives/techwr-l.html
