[cgiapp] Adding Footer to Output

[Karen]

On 1/3/08, Dan Horne <dan.horne at redbone.co.nz> wrote:
> Michael Peters wrote:
> > Just saying something is copyrighted doesn't make it so :)
> >
> Er, assuming you're that actual author, why not?

(Under US law, and I think all the Berne signatories, as I understand
them. YMMV.)

Something is copyrighted the moment it's put into fixed form. The
copyright notice only entitles you to seek statutory (I think)
damages, presumeably on the principle that the infringer *really*
should have known better. But the notice has to be in a specific
format: "Copyright YYYY Copyright Holder's Name," where you can
abbreviate it to "Copr." or use the (fully) circled-C symbol.

In 2008, you don't update all your 2007 copyright notices... the 2007
ones are good indefinitely.  (Technically, there's a limit. The US
Constitution mandates one. But Congress keeps bumping the limit
further out, which somehow doesn't count as being unlimited. But in
Internet time, it's forever for all practical purposes.) If you keep
updating your copyright notices, I imagine there are judges who would
throw them out for purposes of damages.

If you don't intend to seek damages, of course, you don't have to
worry about getting the exact legality right - you're just trying to
remind people that the copyright is there, since there are a lot of
people who still assume that if it doesn't say otherwise, it's public
domain. For that, you'd probably be better served with an undated
copyright notice, and then a "last updated" with that year in it,
though.

(I am not a lawyer, I just have worked in several fields that involve
copyright and accordingly have read a lot of lawyers' interpretations
for laymen.)