Section: A few other facts about copyright

1. Copyright obviously applies to electronic documents as well as programs---documents such as those found on the World Wide Web, on news groups, and email messages. And not only textual documents but also pictures, sounds, "movies," etc.

2. No special action is required to copyright a work. In particular, the author doesn't have to put a copyright notice on it or send a copy to the Library of Congress; it's automatically copyrighted. The copyright notice just makes it more obvious that the work is protected.

3. The prohibition of copying is not absolute. Obviously, the copyright owner can give you explicit permission to copy the work. Permission can also be given implicitly (e.g., when you write a letter to the editor of a newspaper, it's understood that the newspaper may publish it). Under certain conditions, copying is also permitted under the "fair use" doctrine of the copyright law. The intention of copyright is to give the owner what is reasonable, not absolute control.