Web copyrights

["Geoff Hart (by way of \"Eric J. Ray\" <ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com>)" <ght -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA>]

The issue of Web page copyrights is complicated by one simple fact:
most Web pages nowadays are written [sic] using WYSIWYG authoring
tools such as DreamWeaver and PageMill. That being the case, it's not
practical to copyright the code for (say) a three-column table in the
right pane of a two-frame Web page... because everyone who creates
such a layout using the same software would create essentially
identical content, and the first beta tester who created that design
could then sue everyone else for copyright infringement. Hasn't yet
happened to the best of my knowledge.

Cleverly hand-coded HTML should theoretically be patentable, in the
same manner that algorithms written in any other programming language
can be patented, but that's a tough call: how could you ever prove you
wrote it by hand rather than using an authoring tool that did all the
work for you? Moreover, now we're talking patent infringement, not
copyright, and though the overall principles are strongly similar,
there are significant differences in the implementation of the two
bodies of law.

On the whole, it seems highly unlikely that you can copyright HTML
coding itself, particularly if someone subsequently modifies your code
to better suit their needs. It is highly _likely_, however, that the
text content (the words that fit between the HTML tags) will prove--in
court--to be protected in exactly the same way as printed text would
be, and the same applies to any graphics you create. I have no idea
what jurisprudence (love that one-word oxymoron!) exists on this
subject, so please consider this to be informed speculation based on
what I've read in the non-law press (as opposed to the non-legal
press!) and based on my understanding of current copyright law.
--Geoff Hart @8^{)}
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca

"Patience comes to those who wait."--Anon.

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=