copyright notices

[Fergus Henderson]

On 29-Apr-1997, Lee Naish <lee at cs.mu.oz.au> wrote:
> 
> The code (like a literary text) embodies IP - this is what copyright is about.
> Transferring copyright generally requires a signed agreement, not just some
> Ascii characters in a file.  The characters "Copyright" in a file do not have
> legal standing, as far as I am aware; they are for (mis)information only.

IANAL (I am not a lawyer), and I might even be confusing copyright law
with patent law, but...

I think that when you sue someone for copyright violation, you can get
two sorts of damages: (1) payment to recover any financial loss that you
may have suffered, and (2) "punitive" damages, if the infringer knowingly
and deliberately violated your copyright.  I think having an explicit
copyright notice may increase the chance of obtaining punitive damages,
(and perhaps also the amount awarded).

In any case, regardless of the *legal* effect, we need to also consider
the *social* effect, and I'm pretty sure that including an explicit copyright
notice will increase the likelihood that people will comply with our license.

The benefits of including a date in the copyright notice are less clear.
However, if we do include a date in the copyright notice (as is the
status quo), then we should make sure that the date remains correct.

-- 
Fergus Henderson <fjh at cs.mu.oz.au>   |  "I have always known that the pursuit
WWW: <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh>   |  of excellence is a lethal habit"
PGP: finger fjh at 128.250.37.3         |     -- the last words of T. S. Garp.