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(erielack) Copyrights are a big convoluted ?

	Having recently delved into this for another group
and part of my business. The answers a long and very
convoluted.

	A Logo (or grphic composition) is technically
copyrighted once the "Author" ( the creator or company
that hires the creator) "publishes" ( makes a physical
copy , not just a conceptual idea) whether or not it
is filed with the copyright office ( filing and
registering it on clarifies ownership and helps
litigate infringements)

Here are excerpts for the copyright circular:

26.Do I have to renew my copyright? 

                  No. Works created on or after
January 1, 1978, are not subject to renewal
registration (see Circular 15). As to works published
or registered prior to January 1, 1978, renewal
registration is optional after 28 years
                  but does provide certain legal
advantages. For information on how to file a renewal
application as well as the legal benefit for doing so,
see Circular 15 and Circular 15a.





46.How long does copyright last? 

                  The Sonny Bono Copyright Term
Extension Act, signed into law on October 27, 1998,
amends the provisions concerning duration of copyright
protection. Effective immediately, the terms of
copyright are
                  generally extended for an additional
20 years. Specific provisions are as follows:

                  *  For works created after January
1, 1978, copyright protection will endure for the life
of the author plus an additional 70 years. In the case
of a joint work, the term lasts for 70 years after the
last surviving
                  author’s death. For anonymous and
pseudonymous works and works made for hire, the term
will be 95 years from the year of first publication or
120 years from the year of creation, whichever expires
first;

                  *  For works created but not
published or registered before January 1, 1978, the
term endures for life of the author plus 70 years, but
in no case will expire earlier than December 31, 2002.
If the work is published
                  before December 31, 2002, the term
will not expire before December 31, 2047;

                  *  For pre-1978 works still in their
original or renewal term of copyright, the total term
is extended to 95 years from the date that copyright
was originally secured. For further information see
Circular 15a.



              59.How do I get permission to use
somebody else's work? 

                  You can ask for it. If you know who
the copyright owner is, you may contact the owner
directly. If you are not certain about the ownership
or have other related questions, you may wish to
request that the
                  Copyright Office conduct a search of
its records for a fee of $75 per hour. Additional
information can be found in Circular 22.

              60.Could I be sued for using somebody
else's work? How about quotes or samples? 

                  If you use a copyrighted work
without authorization, the owner may be entitled to
bring an infringement action against you. There are
circumstances under the fair use doctrine where a
quote or a sample may be used without permission.
However, in cases of doubt, the Copyright Office
recommends that permission be obtained.


MY FAVORITE IS ( I am dead serious there is a whole
GOV issued cirrcular on it) AnD JUST IN CASE there is
any of those guys on the list:


              58.How do I protect my sighting of
Elvis? 

                  Copyright law does not protect
sightings. However, copyright law will protect your
photo (or other depiction) of your sighting of Elvis.
Just send it to us with a form VA application and the
$30 filing fee. No
                  one can lawfully use your photo of
your sighting, although someone else may file his own
photo of his sighting. Copyright law protects the
original photograph, not the subject of the
photograph.


Copyrights and trademarks would fall to Conrail and
then to CSX and NS and still be in effect as well as
with other fallen flags no renewal is needed.

I don't think a current owner would really come after
someone for a non-commercial use of the logo unless it
is being used to misrepresent oneself or the company
current or former. As in the case of the guy who used
the UP Steam Team Logo on his truck that looked to
official he was also selling shirts with it on there.
UP also went after a model manufacturer who was doing
limited runs of up steam engines packaged with a
boxcar that had the steam team logo on it. Simply
stated they would have let him if he had asked to use
it. UP also owns the rights to the " DAYLIGHT " Logo
transferred from the SP but really does not enforce
it's use. 

	Unlike the guy who tried to re-copyright Pennsylvania
and the keystone logo both of which were already in
the public domain prior to the railroad using them.
	
	So in all you can renew an existing copyright if you
own the rights to it or purchase or inhierit it,  but
you can't refile an old one once in public domail , if
in fact it has fallen into public domain.

Rich Young

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