Copyright year question

I'm asking for non-photo reasons, but I thought that the situation might close enough that the same laws/rules might apply. (Yes, final word will come from an attorney, but I want to get a decent idea first so that I don't waste the attorney's time or mine if I find out it's not even an option.)

It is my understanding that the copyright year is not technically necessary, though it's viewed as a good idea, and is traditional. I work for an engineering firm and we put copyright notices on our plans... i.e.: "(c) 2014 ABC Engineering, Inc.". We are having an internal discussion about the best way to update our title blocks every year, how to keep plans current, and how to do it when a project spans two years or more. They had always just struggled with changing the year every January.

I suggested that we may not need to update every year at all, that *I think* we could do a simple "(c) ABC Engineering, Inc.", and leave it alone from here on out.

Am I possibly correct in my suggestion? Thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

http://www.photoattorn​ey.com …-for-my-copyright-notice/

It's generally the year of first publication. If a derivative work then it is first publication of the derivative work. It's right in the statute:

http://www.copyright.g​ov/title17/92chap4.htm​l

photoguy6405 wrote in post #16678111
I suggested that we may not need to update every year at all, that *I think* we could do a simple "(c) ABC Engineering, Inc.", and leave it alone from here on out.

What kind of plans are these? And, are they something that your firm can actually retain the copyrights to without having specific agreements in place?

I'm the senior cartographer in a legal land survey firm. We don't put a copyright notice on anything, be it a legal plan (which has the surveyor's stamp) or a map. Our clients own what we prepare for them, so copyright isn't something we retain or claim.

If your plans have the dates that they were originally prepared on them, I see no reason why a date would need to be specified in the copyright notice in the title block.

neacail wrote in post #16678396
What kind of plans are these? And, are they something that your firm can actually retain the copyrights to without having specific agreements in place?

I'm the senior cartographer in a legal land survey firm. We don't put a copyright notice on anything, be it a legal plan (which has the surveyor's stamp) or a map. Our clients own what we prepare for them, so copyright isn't something we retain or claim.

If your plans have the dates that they were originally prepared on them, I see no reason why a date would need to be specified in the copyright notice in the title block.

We are a civil engineering firm, and prepare construction plans, documents, as well as legal survey plats and descriptions. A copyrighht notice has been pretty standard for as long as I can remember which is over 20 years. I'm just wondering if the year is technically necessary. If I'm reading it right, the link someone posted above suggests so, even though everything already has a date of its own.

Interesting question which depends on industry I would imagine.

In publishing the copyright date is the inital copyright date. You then have printings (no substantial changes) or editions (substantial changes). For technical documents it's more common to talk about versions or revisions. Standard Version (Revision) Control nomenclature and style is used. Version #, date, authorized by, summary of changes. Copyright would be on the finished product.

I should mention that we don't update a set of plans every year with a new copyright date. If a plan set was finished on July 7, 2013, for example, we would simply have a copyright date of 2013 and leave it at that.

What we are debating is whether we need to be updating our title blocks every year as they're inserted into new projects. It would be easier if we could simply not have the date at all, then we wouldn't have to worry about updating anything.

photoguy6405 wrote in post #16680663
What we are debating is whether we need to be updating our title blocks every year as they're inserted into new projects. It would be easier if we could simply not have the date at all, then we wouldn't have to worry about updating anything.

Why bother with the notice at all? Just use your company name as a "watermark".

There is no longer a legal requirement to include a copyright notice, as their used to be. It is far more important to register your copyright, as you can't actually take action for infringement or claim statutory damages/costs unless it is registered. Putting your company name on the plan "property of xxxx" would not require constant updating and would act as a "watermark" for the purpose of taking action under section 2102 of the copyright act http://www.photoattorn​ey.com …e-music-to-your-ears.html which carries penalties in addition to any for copyright infringement.