Proposed USENET header: "X-Public-Domain"

I have recently begin adding the following nonstandard header:

    X-Public-Domain: Yes

to those USENET articles which I wish to place in the public domain (as a reaction to certain other authors use of the "X-No-Archive:" header to indicate that they explicitly refuse permission for the article to be kept on archive sites such as DejaNews).

I am aware that USC 17 doesn't explicitly grant me any rights to place my own articles in the public domain (other than by staying dead for 70 years) and that this informal header, on an article with no digital signature, probably doesn't constitute any sort of binding legal contract. BUT:

Does it have any value at all? Would a court be likely to find that such articles are indeed public domain? If not, would they at least conclude that anyone who copied such an article was not a willful infringer, since the header deliberately mislead them into thinking that the copying was permissible. I believe that plaintiffs need to show willful infringment in order to collect montary damages on works which are not registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, yes?

Any opinions appreciated. Thanks.

Lance Purple
<lpurple[_at_]netcom.com> Received on Fri Apr 16 1999 - 19:21:47 GMT