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I took a Computer Security class a few years back. The professor was both a
computer security expert, and a copyright attorney. He told us that the "poor
man's copyright," or mailing something to yourself so that you can use the
postmark as proof that the document existed on or before a certain date, is not
admissable in court. The reason he gave is that you can always mail yourself an
empty envelope, and fill and seal it later.
He told us that the only way for us to inexpensively prove that something is as
old as we say it is, is to have the document notarized by a Notary Public. He
indicated that there are services that software companies use that take source
code images at set intervals, and that those services will help you to prove
that your software really is your own (and not stolen from someone else). But,
those services are apparently somewhat expensive.
-David Castro
techwrtr -at- crl -dot- com
thetechwriter -at- yahoo -dot- com
--- salatas <salatas -at- micron -dot- com> wrote:
> > stuff it into an envelope and mail it to yourself.
>
> Tracy Boyington asked:
>
> Does anybody know if it really works?
>
> Salette Latas responds:
>
> Although I've never heard of this method being used in copyright cases, I
> have heard this same method recommended for documenting the condition of,
> for example, a rental property at the time you moved in.
>
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