Actually as of (I think) about 1986 when the copyright laws were overhauled,
you don't have to state a copyright to have one.  Prior to that if you
didn't state your work was copyrighted, you forfeited copyright.  Since
then, you have an implicit copyright on everything you produce that is
copyrightable although the lawyers will tell you that putting the copyright
notice on it is still a good idea.

Thus, if you can show that you created the material and they later possessed
it in the act of transmitting it for you, (headers ought to suffice), I
would expect you would have no problem in showing that you, not they, are
copyright holder.  Now, if you signed over to them, as part of your account
creation, your copyrights to all your mail that might be different.

Hopefully this information is not wrong due to the Digital Millenium
Act....so much sh*t slid through in that bill I think even the special
interests were surprised.


Dana Bourgeois
Not a lawyer, don't play one on TV

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-amanda-users AT amanda DOT org 
> [mailto:owner-amanda-users AT amanda DOT org] On Behalf Of Gene Heskett
> Sent: Monday, October 20, 2003 5:55 PM
> To: Galen Johnson
> Cc: amanda-users AT amanda DOT org
> Subject: Re: I'm back!
> 
> 
> On Monday 20 October 2003 13:53, Galen Johnson wrote:
> >Gene Heskett wrote:
> >>I think, some jet lag though...
> >
> >OK Gene...I have to ask...Why are you copyrighting your email?
> >
> >=G=
> 
> Because of yahoo's TOS. (of a couple of years ago, I don't know their 
> current TOS)  Someone had emailed me a copy quite some time ago after 
> I was discussing something that if developed, might have been 
> meagerly profitable.  He was attempting to show me that according to 
> that TOS, they could take my idea and there wasn't anything I could 
> do about it.  Their TOS at the time attempts to pre-empt your rights, 
> trying to put a blanket copyright on every message that passes thru 
> their hardware.
> 
> Yahoo has an attitude reminiscent of a Mr. Gates product EULA.  So I 
> figure if I have a stated prior copyright, maybe I can catch them 
> with their legal drawers at half mast someday.  I'd enjoy that I 
> think.
> 
> But its more related to principles than any profit related motives as 
> I realisticly view it as more of a method to harrass some dingleberry 
> attorney than anything else.  All based of course on that old saw 
> about "first we kill all the lawyers" which I believe is a quote from 
> a Shakespear play, so its not even remotely close to current.
> 
> But I am in favor of that solution vis-a-vis lawyers anyway...
> 
> IIRC C-Net also has such a TOS rider.
> 
> -- 
> Cheers, Gene
> AMD K6-III@500mhz 320M
> Athlon1600XP@1400mhz  512M
> 99.27% setiathome rank, not too shabby for a WV hillbilly 
> Yahoo.com attornies please note, additions to this message by 
> Gene Heskett are: Copyright 2003 by Maurice Eugene Heskett, 
> all rights reserved.
> 
>