Copyright

[John E Blacet]

There is a lot of misleading information being posted on this topic!

There are only two ways to protect an electronic circuit: a patent or
keep it secret. Once it is published, IN ANY FORM, including the
Internet, it is in the public domain and may be used by anyone. Fair or
not, this IS the way it works.

To get a patent, you have to prove unique features and originality and
this is sometimes where the "mailing yourself a copy" can be used to
show the time of conception. This can be useful in case of competing
claims. A sucessful Patent will give you the right to the circuit for
twenty years, after which, it goes to the public domain.

The patent system was designed to be fair to the designer and to the
advancement of the art. Without it, trade secrets would be the rule and
progress would be stultified, because new ideas would not be published.
The rigorous patent process assures that the idea is useful and original
(some patents certainly seem pretty silly, though). Without the process,
you can imagine the arguments and lawsuits that would ensue!

Many, many people chose to share electronic circuits with others and
these people advance the state of the art (well, sometimes ;>) and
deserve kudos for sharing. Some people turn this into a profitable
enterprise by writing books. This is where COPYRIGHT law comes into
play. IE: you cannot take the book and run to the Xerox machine, make
copies and sell them. The design of the circuits within the book however
is still only protected if covered by a PATENT.

Software, OTOH is copyrightable.

It is to some companies advantage of course to pay a small licensing fee
to talented designers to keep on their good side and foster future
relationships, but as Paul points out, this is not a legal requirement. 

As for fairness, will everyone who has dug up an old schematic, redrew
it or not and posted it on the web, please contact the original designer
and offer his/her apologies? Then you can cast your stone!

As for the Doepfer Boycott, well WHAT A LOAD! We are all lucky to have
them around, along with the rest of the "nano" companies making niche
market modular equipment at INCREDIBLY reasonable prices.

There have been some very good responses to this topic. As for the rest
of you, quit your whinning and make some music or circuits!

Regards.
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John Blacet
Blacet Research Music Electronics
http://www.blacet.com
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blacet at metro.net