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From: ndiamond@watdaisy.UUCP (Norman Diamond)
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Re:  Copyright notices
Message-ID: <6789@watdaisy.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Dec-84 13:23:50 EST
Article-I.D.: watdaisy.6789
Posted: Mon Dec  3 13:23:50 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 4-Dec-84 07:50:22 EST
References: <38@cmu-cs-cad.ARPA>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 25

Just speaking personally, I find it obnoxious when a compiler prints out
a copyright notice for the compiler's vendor at the top of a listing of
my program.  The message literally claims that the vendor has a copyright
on my source, which is utter falsehood.

To put a copyright message in an object module, there still can be a string
constant in the source.  If the compiler tries to optimize out an unused string
constant, then assign it to some external variable and then call an external
function that no-ops.  I am not qualified to say whether the presence of such
a message legally copyrights the object module, but the message will be there.

Next question:  when my source is translated by a vendor's compiler to my
object, who holds the copyright on the object?

Related question:  when my novel is translated by some one (with my permission
or maybe even at my request), who holds the copyright on the novel in the
other language?

-- Norman Diamond

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"Opinions are those of the keyboard, and do not reflect on me or higher-ups."