[BNM] - Legal/copyright question

[Ian Betteridge]

It depends really on what kind of thing it is :)

There's no copyright on ideas, so it has to be a tangible thing - a design,
some code, some words, an image, or something like that. Some kinds of ideas
can be patented, but that's a whole different kettle of fish (and can be a
massive pain in the backside).

The classic kind of proof that you were the originator of something would be
to print it out and send it to someone registered, dated post - keep the
envelope sealed, of course.

Email would do the trick too, but might be seen by a court as easier to
fake, so could be weaker evidence that you'd created something (rather than
someone else creating it).


On 23/7/09 14:04, "Max Williams" <toastkid.williams at gmail.com> wrote:

> Legal question:  If i'd created 'a digital thing' and wanted to protect
> myself against someone else claiming it as their idea, would it be
> sufficient for me to send that thing to myself via gmail?  So that, if it
> came to it, later on i could point to the email? (and if required claim that
> google could verify it by checking their own mail records?)