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You don't have to pay to get a copyright on your own material do you. You automatically get copyright on it as long as you put Š"Year" "Name/Company" don't you.
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Think of it as registered and unregistered. You will have the copyright of your original if and when you place the copyright Š"Year" "Name/Company" on your work. This is legal, but not necessarily secure in a crunch. There are some things you can do to make this more secure, like mailing yourself a copy via registered mail, then never opening it but putting it in a safety deposit box. Anyway, this is "unregistered."
The registered copyright is when you fill out the application form for registered copyright. You still place the Š"Year" "Name/Company" as before, but the government then has a copy of the copyright form. I don't remember what it costs, but it doesn't cost very much.
There was a time when a work wasn't copyrighted unless you actually registered the copyright, but that's not the case these days. Both ways are legal. The second way is more secure.
I plan to register the copyright of my game. It's a good idea to make sure that your game is completely finished before you register its copyright, but meantime it will remain legally copyrighted.
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So for my freeware games just putting the "Š2004 Martin Pilkington" thing in is enough for it to be seen by law that i have the copyright.
Quote
Originally posted by Pilky: **So for my freeware games just putting the "Š2004 Martin Pilkington" thing in is enough for it to be seen by law that i have the copyright.
**
Yes.
Its $30. Copyrights last 75 years to my knowledge.
There is another method, at least for US residents. Mandatory Deposit, process as follows;
Best Edition/Final copy ( in this case machine readable format, 2 copies ) must be submitted along with a form( name eludes me ), to the library of congress ( (url="http://"http://www.loc.gov")www.loc.gov(/url) for details ), within 3 months of publication( defined: released to the public ). (url="http://"http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/mandatory_deposit.html")Manditory Deposit FAQ(/url)
other nation's might have similar programs... :: shrug :: something to the tune of 'Legal Deposit', 'depot legal' or some such.
Most people won't take the time to contest a notice of copyright unless they have a similar product or are bent on theft. Other than that they simply change a few details and they can coexist anyway. Copyright, in digital matters is really only useful to prevent people from directly distributing your exact work for profit without your consent.
basically you create a freeware game, i download, set up an ecommerce store and sell it for $15 on the otherside of the world.
I've adapted some annoying/quirky habits of using my logo/handle as design elements, randomly distorting the sp eLL' ing of words, plastering copyright notices on things, physically planting the license agreement into the software, and generally simultaneously announcing the release on as many appropriate forums as possible. Such habits are as much selfPromotion as protection. Always release your games in a well-lit well-populated area.
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(This message has been edited by ellrx (edited 12-19-2003).)