Journal and Newsletter Articles

[Michael Wathen 556-9565]

I agree with Dennis Johnson about contacting the author of the
article privately.  For example,  I went to great lengths to
insure Mr. Conklin that I would not misrepresent him or his ideas
on the Internet.  I personally would feel embarrassed if somehow
his post appeared in the Journal without his forehand knowledge
and it might make any future contributions from him difficult.  I
believe that this is not a unique situation.  Furthermore, no one
should feel intimidated from posting for fear of it being
published without consent.  It could seriously impair the flow
which is one of the great things about the Internet.

A few weeks ago someone suggested that things on the Internet are
public domain.  I disagree.  Although there is no official
registration with the library of congress one can still prove
ownership by retention of documentation.  One can also  declare a
copyright just by marking a document as such.  I went through
this several years ago and actually registered a copyright with
the Library of Congress.  I am working on a new document to
replace that one but I don't think its worth the effort to
officially register it.  My understanding of Patents leads me to
believe that the same rules which apply to patents also apply to
copyrights.  With patents you need only establish the time and
the witness of an invention to claim it even if its many years
later.  So if one pirates something from the Internet then one
might have a case against the person who lifted it.

Michael Wathen
In a Collegiate Academy of Unreality
Cincinnati Ohio