Such notification often will put the author in a stronger position in court when prosecuting an
infringer.
While not necessary to secure copyright protection, an author can also register a copyright with the
government. One completes an application, and submits two copies of the work along with a filing fee of $45.
Registration creates a public record of the copyright, and strengthens further one??™s position in court should
someone later infringe on the copyright. For one thing, successful prosecution of an infringer will result in the
infringer having to pay court and legal costs of the prosecution, as well as any damages the court awards
(http://www.copyright.gov/).
Copyright protection continues from the date of creation of the work until 70 years after the author??™s death.
If the copyright is held by a company, the protection extends 120 years from the date of creation, or 95 years
from the date of publication, whichever is shorter.
Copyrights are free or inexpensive, easy to obtain, long-lasting, and economically important. These
characteristics make copyright an attractive protection for the intellectual property in software. However,
a copyright protects only the expression of an idea, not the idea itself.
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