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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
What's the publication date of a (hypothetical) essay that I (1) wrote on my computer in July 2006....
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January, 2007.
Copyright protection kicks in July 2006, though.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
I'm aware that this means that copyright based on "publication date" is more than a bit of a mess, too. Date of author's death, while possibly not available, is at least *fixed.*
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None of these dates we're throwing around are easy to determine.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Elfwreck
If the rule were "publication + 50," than a book published in 1960 is available for use.
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Yes, but again, "publication" is too late.
If I am a novice screenwriter, and I'm shopping my new screenplay around, I want protection
now. I don't want to publish it anywhere first.
"Fixed form" is clearly the optimal date to start the copyright term.