Date: Sat, 10 Nov 2001 19:54:23 +0100 From: "Anthony Atkielski" <anthony@atkielski.com> To: <freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG>, <freebsd-doc@FreeBSD.ORG>, "Gary W. Swearingen" <swear@blarg.net> Subject: Re: What is FreeBSD, Inc? Message-ID: <000601c16a19$21030fe0$0a00000a@atkielski.com> References: <s3hes36z8b.es3@localhost.localdomain>
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Gary writes: > Do they have legal standing to own copyrights? For what it's worth ... anyone can own a copyright. If you fix any creative work in tangible form (and that includes writing software), you own the copyright in that work. You don't have to have any special legal status, and you don't have to fill out any paperwork or register anything. Incorporation is different. In some jurisdictions, you're not allowed to put "Inc." after your name unless you have formally incorporated as a legal corporation under the laws of that jurisdiction. It is not difficult to do (usually), but unless it is done, you can't put "Inc." after your name (in some jurisdictions, which include most U.S. States, if I'm not mistaken). > It also seems strange that the web site doesn't > mention trademarks. It isn't necessary to assert a trademark, but if one doesn't, the trademark doesn't exist. Also, trademarks (unlike copyrights) must be actively defended, or they tend to fall into the public domain, and they must be actively used, or they cannot be held as trademarks and cannot be registered (at least in the U.S.). To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-doc" in the body of the message
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