Dual licensing -- other wrinkles

[John Cowan]

Sam Barnett-Cormack scripsit:

> Well, that depends on if you're living entirely in the US, or on the
> basis of international copyright treaties, in which case you or other
> parties might be in countries that don't require the insanity of
> registered copyright.
 
The U.S. doesn't *require* copyrights to be registered -- that would be
against the Berne Convention, and in fact was one of the stumbling-blocks
to U.S. acceptance of Berne, back in the day.  It simply grants a
privilege to people who do register: they can sue in U.S. court for
infringement and do not have to prove actual monetary damages -- instead,
they can get US$50,000 per infringing act, which is quite a hefty threat.
You don't need to be a U.S. citizen or resident to register, either.

So if you are the copyright owner of open-source software, it may be
worthwhile to pay the registration fee (the cost is $30 for a perpetual
registration, though you need to register at least each new version,
if not each actual release) in order to put teeth into your license.

IANAL, TINLA.

-- 
John Cowan       http://www.ccil.org/~cowan        <jcowan at reutershealth.com>
        You tollerday donsk?  N.  You tolkatiff scowegian?  Nn.
        You spigotty anglease?  Nnn.  You phonio saxo?  Nnnn.
                Clear all so!  `Tis a Jute.... (Finnegans Wake 16.5)
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