[conspire] Book Burning continues thanks to the Feds

[Rick Moen]

Quoting Ruben Safir (ruben at mrbrklyn.com):

> BTW - that sounds like an agreement with me Rick :)

Please read _with_ context, Ruben:  Registration of your copyright
accomplishes _constructive notice_ to infringers.  

Do you understand what that term means?  

It means that, as of that date, you have deprived all infringers of the
ability to justifiably say 'Your Honour, I didn't know, and I had no
reasonable way to know, that the plaintiff owned copyright over that
work.  I merely found it lying in the street, so it's unfair to assess
statutory damages or attorney's fees against me.  Please make me at
worst merely compensate the plaintiff for his losses, because my
infringement wasn't willful.'

Thus, if you haven't bothered to register your copyright, you can sue to 
recover actual damages and to enjoin infringement.  You cannot sue for
statutory damages or attorney's fees.  

And, by the way, along with your rather whopping filing fee for the
court and paying for your attorney's third daughter's orthodontics work,
you will need at that time to tender $35 to the Library of Congress's
Copyright Office to register your copyright.  If you have that few dimes
to rub against each other that you cannot afford to register your modern
Mona Lisa with the Copyright Office, maybe you should stay out of
courtrooms.

Now, if you're entirely done with rather pointless arguing over what
does not matter, then can we gently caressing be allowed to go ahead
with our Fridays, please?