Re: A Little Linguistic Playground

On Tue, 16 Mar 1999, Earl Horsefield <ehorsefield[_at_]usgs.gov> wrote:
>
> On 03/14/99, Joseph P. Riolo <riolo[_at_]voicenet.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Fri, 12 Mar 1999, Oliver Seely <oliver[_at_]dhvx20.csudh.edu> wrote:
> > >
> > > Copyright (c) 1999 by Oliver Seely and decopyrighted immediately
> > > thereafter.
> > >
> > > Ought we not to have a special symbol for this process?
> >
> > Maybe, a simple large X mark over the copyright symbol will do it.
>
> How about
>
> Copyright (c) 1999 by (Name) and copyright vacated
> immediately thereafter.
>
> ??

Folks are missing the point. The law does not permit a copyright to be "vacated" or revoked. There is no statutory provision for doing so.

The owner of a copyright can give a blanket license to others, so that the subject work can be used by others.

Trying to invent a new symbol, or to apply a term to signify something that is not provided for in the law will not work.

The danger of using a work with a "decopyright" statement on it is that the copyright owner could sue you for copyright infringement, and from a strictly legal sense, the infringer would be liable. The proper manner to use the work would be with permission, through a license.

This is not legal advice -- if you require legal advice, you must contact and speak with an attorney concerning the specific facts of your situation.

-- 
Thomas E. Workman Jr.
41 Harrison Street
Taunton, MA 02780

EMAIL: tworkman[_at_]erols.com
Phone: (508) 822-7777
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