Alex Chaihorsky wrote:

>>The copyright belongs to the person who writes the message,and that
>>applies to every message. The copyright to the entire collection of
>>messages (a "compilation copyright") would go to the person who put the
>>collection together; in this case, that is no one.
>>
>>dmh
>
>
> Sorry, re-read copyright laws. Unless accompanied by a copyright statement,
> nothing is copyrighted. And this is without even touching the subject of
> USENET quoting. If you are right, each and every one of us would be guilty
> by including the previous message(s) like this:
>
>
>>like this
>>like this
>
>
> Because copyright forbids duplication of the whole and any part of the
> material. So by including your message above mine like I did I am breaking
> copyright laws (if, according to you every individual message's copyright
> belong to an author?
>
> Sasha.
>
>
Sorry, but I have read at least the U.S. copyright law. (I'm a writer,
and it's my business to know it.) Copyright resides in the creator at
the moment the creation is fixed in a copyable form. The famous (c)
symbol indicates merely that the copyright has been registered, and has
no force in law as to whether or not the copyright exists.

In Usenet usage, permission to quote when replying is implicit. That,
too, has no force in law. This is an area where usage is ahead of the
law. Whether it falls under "fair use" doctrine has not been settled in
a court of law, nor is it likely ever to be.

dmh