circuit rights violation

[Grant Richter]

This is my understanding of the legalities behind
Internet publishing. I'm not positive about the public
domain aspect, but I believe the courts view it literally,
"voluntarily entering an idea into a public domain".

If I am incorrect about any of this, please help us all out
and give us the correct information. And before everybody
rips their sites down, I believe it also applies if it can be
shown that it once was voluntarily posted to a public
domain, even if it was later removed.

If you, as the originator, freely publish an idea on a public
forum such as the Internet, you enter it into the public domain,
which gives everybody the equal right to exploit it.
It also prevents anyone from patenting the idea,
because by being in the public domain, it becomes "prior art".

In one sense there is an advantage - it prevents someone
from patenting an idea you had, thereby giving them
legal grounds to prevent YOU from using it.

The disadvantage is that it allows anyone to use the idea
privately or commercially and without obligation to you
either financially or by giving credit.

The only time this would matter is if you intend to make
a commercial product of it yourself, in which case entering
it into the public domain removes the competitive advantage
of your "trade secret".

The best example of this is Electronotes magazine which
published circuits where some variation of was used by
virtually all commercial manufacturers of synthesizers.