[BNM] - Legal/copyright question

[Jon Webb]

Hi Max,

Might be worth looking at http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ - protection at a
cost, depending on what you're trying to do.

Cheers,

Jon

2009/7/23 Max Williams <toastkid.williams at gmail.com>:
> hi ian - thanks - replies inline
>
> 2009/7/23 Ian Betteridge <ianbetteridge at me.com>
>
>> 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).
>
>
>  yeah, it would be a design or an image.
>
>>
>>
>> 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.
>
> that's what got me thinking - whether gmail was a more modern version of
> this.  Is the above actually legal proof of anything, anyway?  I always
> wondered if that was just a myth - it must be possible to fake.
>
>>
>>
>> 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).
>
> I'd argue it's less easy to fake, since google, who presumably would be
> viewed as an impartial third party, could look up the mail in their
> records.  Whereas in the letter example you could theoretically open the
> letter, change the contents, and close it again without leaving any
> evidence. Convincing a court of that might be a different story though.
>
>
>
>>
>>
>> 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?)
>>
>>
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Jon Webb

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