Legal Question in Technology Law in North Carolina

Copyright Notice

If I develop a piece of software in 2001, I would put the proper Notice on the bottom: Copyright 2001 by John Doe. Now, let's say I improve/update the software in 2003, do I change the Notice to read: Copyright 2003 by John Doe, do I leave it alone or do I use the dates 2001-2003. Any assistance would be appreciated.


Asked on 5/31/07, 2:26 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Brett Trout Brett J. Trout P.C.

Re: Copyright Notice

I would suggest you use 2001, 2003. The hyphen would imply that you made updates during 2002 as well which, if not true, would make the notice improper. Improper notice would not invalidate your copyright in the underlying program or the updates, but it could impact damages you might be able to recover from an infringer.

I also prefer to at least look like I know what I am doing when a judge asks me why I provided a particular type of copyright notice.

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Answered on 5/31/07, 2:32 pm
Johm Smith tom's

Re: Copyright Notice

You can contact me directly if you want an experienced Internet attorney to go over your site and suggest improvements to your current legal condition.

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Answered on 6/05/07, 10:16 pm


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