theses and copyrights

[Una Smith]

On Wed, Nov 21, 2001 at 08:28:02AM -0900, James Kruse wrote:

>Berkeley sends all theses to UMI. If I wanted to copyright my thesis, I
>could have paid $50 or so and done it.

The fee is only for UMI to serve as your agent by sending a copy of your
thesis to the appropriate government office for registration.  This adds
slightly to your ability to defend your copyright.  However, your thesis
is copyrighted regardless of whether you choose to have UMI perform this
service.  Registration is not a requirement of copyright.

UMI's standard contract involves you giving them the non-exclusive right
to sell copies of your thesis.  The key here is non-exclusive:  you may
sell copies of your thesis yourself, or publish parts elsewhere, without
consulting UMI.

        Una Smith

Los Alamos National Laboratory, Mailstop K-710, Los Alamos, NM  87545