Re: automatic copyright protection or IP rights granted by "the public"?

On 14 Sep 1998, JQ Johnson <jqj[_at_]darkwing.uoregon.edu> wrote:
>
> On 09/09/98, Moritz Roettinger <moritz.roettinger[_at_]dg23.cec.be> wrote:
> >
> > No. Intellectual property in literary works belongs right from the
> > beginning to the author - and only to him and originally to him.
> > This property right is not a derivated right and is not granted to
> > him by anybody.
>
> Leaving aside the natural rights issues, this still isn't a correct
> statement of US law. First, it's not enough to be a "literary work";
> it has to be "original". In most cases the author obtains rights at
> the moment of fixation, but not in all cases, e.g., work made for
> hire, employee of the federal government, etc.

Works made for hire are instantly protected unless the employee works for the Federal government.

Albert Henderson, Editor, PUBLISHING RESEARCH QUARTERLY <70244.1532[_at_]compuserve.com> Received on Tue Sep 15 1998 - 12:55:51 GMT