What Copyright Protects

Too start of the reason I have posted here is because there seems to be some debate on the rights too copyright textures and such so Lets start:

WHAT IS NOT PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT?
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:

Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded)

Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents

Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration

Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources)

And also

Use of the notice may be important because it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication. Furthermore, in the event that a work is infringed, if a proper notice of copyright appears on the published copy or copies to which a defendant in a copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be given to such a defendant's interposition of a defense based on innocent infringement in mitigation of actual or statutory damages. Innocent infringement occurs when the infringer did not realize that the work was protected.


Before you make a stink to lindens or any one else try to follow the rules that make your piece of work actually copyrighted.

There have been many, many discussions about copyright in these forums over the past two years. Zero Grace pointed to a good article summarizing some of the Myths of Copyright.

Oh and "innocent infringment" is infringment nonetheless.

Well seeing as anything I posted was not A myth, as it came from the goverment website about copyright.

Hi Sherpa, I just wanted to say this as friendly advice for everybody so don't feel like this is attacking you.

Even if you assume that you won't get fined for "damages" based on "innocent infringement" (you'd better hope their lawyers never find this thread!), you can still be fined for the "infringement" - 150,000 US$. That's the basic fine forget any additional stuff from doing it "on purpose".

All textures are copyrighted as soon as you make em. If someone wants to release that copyright they have to do that special and on purpose. It can't ever happen by accident or 'cause they forgot something. Even if you make a texture that's got a table of "weight's and measures", it's still copyrighted - people can't use that texture. They can just use the information to make their own different style table.

And for lots of those short words, slogans and symbols and things that you can't copyright, you can (and prolly do) trademark 'em if you're a big company!

Be careful and don't steal!