It occurs to me that a good illustration that copyright protection has run amuck is email. Every email you write is automatically copyrighted.
If you register it with the Copyright Office you might be able to get statutory damages each time it's forwarded - $750 - $30,000 per infringement in statutory damages per 17 U.S.C. Sect. 504(c). If you put a copyright notice on it, the infringer can't claim innocent infringement (which could bring damages down to $200).
No, I'm not seriously suggesting people do this. It's just a thought that crossed my mind that shows how badly existing copyright law meshes with the Internet age.
Hello, I liked you site very much. But maybe you should change the color of the background on the site?
Posted by: Peter | July 18, 2005 at 01:00 AM