>>What steps do I need to take to copyright my code. I've heard several different ways to copyright code including adding a copyright statement to every method and procedure. Is this a really complicated procedure requiring a lawyer or much simpler than that? Thanks for your feedback.
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>>Marcus.
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>Marcus,
>Basically a copyright exists as soon as the work is expressed. In the case of a program as soon as it is stored on your disk drive. The copyright notice is a formaality and is no longer required. It's worth adding the notice to inform people that the work is copyrighted. Then they can't claim they thought it was public domain.

Note that you must use the word "copyright" or the c with the circle around it. The (c) is not recognized.


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>Registration is not required for the copyright to exist. You need to register the copyright before you can sue for infringement. There are advantages to registration. If you register within 3 months of creation, you can recover the statutory damages if your copyright is infringed. If you wait to register, you can only collect actual damages. Also if you wait to register until you need to sue someone, you will probably have to pay a higher fee to get expedited registration. The registration fee is only $20 normally.
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>There is a good copyright web site at http://www.bitlaw.com/copyright/index.html. That gives the details on copyrights.