On Sun, 14 Apr 2002, Liz Marr wrote:

> After a rather full-bodied discussion on another list, can somebody point
> me at resources that give the details behind, 1) implied copyright for public
> forums, 2) given copyright for forums, 3) any legal actions in regard to
> copyright and public forums.  The discussion centered around just who is
> the owner of the copyright for messages on a list if no copyright information
> is given at the time of joining or the time of posting (list owner, server
> owner, original poster, all posters involved in the discussion) and just who
> owns the copyright for messages that have disclaimers like "all material is
> considered copyright the original poster" - including if a list owner or server
> owner can assume the copyright just by informing members when they join
> that they are giving up copyright.  In today's litigious society (or at least the
> United States society), it would be nice to know just where things stand in
> these issues.  Thanks.

I am not an attorney, but I have discussed this issue several times with
several different attornies, including one or two who are well versed in
itelectual property. The answer is that all materials are copyrighted,
even if nothing explicitly says so. The owner of the copyright, by
default, is the author of the material. Only the owner can change the
terms of the copyright. As I understand it, this applies to electronic
media in the same way it applies to print, voice, photographic, and video
media.

If you really need an authoritative answer, you need to consult with
qualified legal council.