Thanks OP, I absolutely hate it when people place mods on other sites with out the creators permission, it'd be like giving away hours of work, I'll make sure to place this on my future mods.
In all countries that are members of the Berne Convention, copyright is automatic and need not be obtained through official registration with any government office.
Please do not post wikipedia as a source for information. Take the time to actually invest in research if you are going to correct someone. Yes you are correct, copyright is automatic with the caveat that you really have no legal ground to stand on if you do not register it with the government.
Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”
Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration” and Circular 38b, Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), on non-U.S. works.
Please do not post wikipedia as a source for information. Take the time to actually invest in research if you are going to correct someone. Yes you are correct, copyright is automatic with the caveat that you really have no legal ground to stand on if you do not register it with the government.
-just link it if it's that long-
I used Wikipedia becuase I'm not going to hunt for 20 minutes so satisfy 1 (or now I guess 2) random idiots on a forum.
NOBODY IS GOING TO SUE. Saying that the advantage of a registered copyright is damages in case of successful litigation is stupid. The point of these licenses isn't so we can sue someone, because who's going to sue over a mod? It's so when we're emailing a web host or asking someone to take something down we have a foot to stand on.
And I could have just as easily pulled that quote from the site you linked, so I don't see why you're whining about Wikipedia.
I used Wikipedia becuase I'm not going to hunt for 20 minutes so satisfy 1 (or now I guess 2) random idiots on a forum.
NOBODY IS GOING TO SUE. Saying that the advantage of a registered copyright is damages in case of successful litigation is stupid. The point of these licenses isn't so we can sue someone, because who's going to sue over a mod? It's so when we're emailing a web host or asking someone to take something down we have a foot to stand on.
And I could have just as easily pulled that quote from the site you linked, so I don't see why you're whining about Wikipedia.
Agreed.
If anyone would like to write any other copyrights then feel free to do so.
I'll be adding a link to a longer list.
it will be adf.ly so I'll be adding an option to not do it.
Any new copyrights will be there.
The massive amount of misunderstanding about what copyrights are, what intellectual property is, and how those effect Minecraft modders is STAGGERING in this thread, including in the OP and Mod posts here.
In all countries that are members of the Berne Convention, copyright is automatic and need not be obtained through official registration with any government office.
If someone copies your stuff, your pseudo copyright ain't gonna be held up in court (if you were crazy enough to bring a suit over minecraft mods, lolz). Thus, its only working on people's goodwill, making the use thereof pointless. You should just keep a disclaimer about "please don't use my stuff without permission" like everyone already does.
In all countries that are members of the Berne Convention, copyright is automatic and need not be obtained through official registration with any government office.
If someone copies your stuff, your pseudo copyright ain't gonna be held up in court (if you were crazy enough to bring a suit over minecraft mods, lolz). Thus, its only working on people's goodwill, making the use thereof pointless. You should just keep a disclaimer about "please don't use my stuff without permission" like everyone already does.
Because apparently "please don't use my stuff without permission" doesn't work with dicks like Gamekiller on the internet, so it's helpful when you're emailing their host with a takedown request to say I have copyright on this, this is the license I put on it, this directly infringes part <x> of the license and most hosts aren't going to go to the US copyright office or wherever you live and actually check that your formally registered copyright. The license serves to make you look more professional then "herp this guy stole my stuff!!".
Please do not post wikipedia as a source for information. Take the time to actually invest in research if you are going to correct someone. Yes you are correct, copyright is automatic with the caveat that you really have no legal ground to stand on if you do not register it with the government.
I hate when people say wikipedia is unreliable. At the bottom of the page it shows references, meaning, it's unlikely to be made up. And I bet one of those references leads to the place you specified.
this is directly from the official U.S. .gov page for those too lazy to read it..whether it is valid in other countries is a moot point.
"When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.” "
either way, posting a notice is a valid deterrent against theft and should be used if you are worried about your work being stolen.
and mods are not illegal, distributing notch's code is, but the modifications themselves belong to the author of said mod.
As most mods are derivative work from Notch work, all mods are coauthored by notch and the mod author. Tryiing to put any copyright on that withouth Notch permision is probably a no-no.
This would be true if mods were distributed along with the original code, but they are not.
How can you make such a general statement? A lot of mods include modified versions of original Minecraft files which still contain "original code". Taking one of Notch's class-files and changing or adding a few lines does not suddenly make this file your work.
(slight edit for clarity)
Normally that would be true, but Mojang effectively signed away their rights on that by giving modders ownership of their mods ("plugins you create for the game belong to you etc. etc."). Editing a class file is creating a plugin, there is no provision that it cannot contain Mojang code.
Just read the word of notch from yesterday. When molding becomes more official, you can't make money off it. They also will be able to use the mods in updates, which means the development of minecraft will (probably) go faster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Obtaining_copyright
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/
Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.”
Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration” and Circular 38b, Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), on non-U.S. works.
I used Wikipedia becuase I'm not going to hunt for 20 minutes so satisfy 1 (or now I guess 2) random idiots on a forum.
NOBODY IS GOING TO SUE. Saying that the advantage of a registered copyright is damages in case of successful litigation is stupid. The point of these licenses isn't so we can sue someone, because who's going to sue over a mod? It's so when we're emailing a web host or asking someone to take something down we have a foot to stand on.
And I could have just as easily pulled that quote from the site you linked, so I don't see why you're whining about Wikipedia.
Agreed.
If anyone would like to write any other copyrights then feel free to do so.
I'll be adding a link to a longer list.
it will be adf.ly so I'll be adding an option to not do it.
Any new copyrights will be there.
If someone copies your stuff, your pseudo copyright ain't gonna be held up in court (if you were crazy enough to bring a suit over minecraft mods, lolz). Thus, its only working on people's goodwill, making the use thereof pointless. You should just keep a disclaimer about "please don't use my stuff without permission" like everyone already does.
Because apparently "please don't use my stuff without permission" doesn't work with dicks like Gamekiller on the internet, so it's helpful when you're emailing their host with a takedown request to say I have copyright on this, this is the license I put on it, this directly infringes part <x> of the license and most hosts aren't going to go to the US copyright office or wherever you live and actually check that your formally registered copyright. The license serves to make you look more professional then "herp this guy stole my stuff!!".
Nuff said.
EPIC FAIL. This is a stickied thread.
Mod Archive
I hate when people say wikipedia is unreliable. At the bottom of the page it shows references, meaning, it's unlikely to be made up. And I bet one of those references leads to the place you specified.
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"When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.
Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section “Copyright Registration.” "
either way, posting a notice is a valid deterrent against theft and should be used if you are worried about your work being stolen.
and mods are not illegal, distributing notch's code is, but the modifications themselves belong to the author of said mod.
>Win at life.
I suggest you all do the same if you are so hopelessly protective of your Minecraft mods. Free legal advice whenever you need it.
Wanting to get a few bucks from adfly links != hopelessly protective
agreed, also rotten, your name is misspelled in a quote in the OP.
Oops, just fixed.
:tongue.gif:
You have a good eye!
Normally that would be true, but Mojang effectively signed away their rights on that by giving modders ownership of their mods ("plugins you create for the game belong to you etc. etc."). Editing a class file is creating a plugin, there is no provision that it cannot contain Mojang code.
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