[Sussex] RMS Talking at Sussex Uni

[Steven Dobson]

Hi Jacqui

On 10/03/11 18:03, Jacqui Caren-home wrote:
> On 10/03/2011 14:43, Steven Dobson wrote:
>> How much easier would it be to interface with XP of that
>> code as legally available?
> 
> One one verison of XP, the flash screen comes up with a copyright listed
> as 200n-2010.
> My question is that as the copyright is listed as ending in 2010 is that
> version of XP no longer under copyright? :-)

It is my understanding (IMNAL) that such copyright notices denote the
various start dates of the copyright term.

If I publish a work in, say 2000. Then that is when the clock starts
ticking for that work.  If I then make changes to such in 2005 those
modifications are also copyrighted but the clock did not start ticking
back in 2000 when I wrote the version without the new modification, the
clock starts at the date of publication.

So your 200n-2010 shows that the work as a whole will enter the public
domain in 2035 (assuming 25 years protection which is what I think the
US term on software is), but bits of it will enter the public domain
before then.

Steve
-- 
Steve "Dobbo" Dobson