.. index::
   single: guidelines; all languages

General Guidelines for All Languages
------------------------------------

.. index:: copyright

Copyright
#########

When copyright notices are added to a file, they should look like this:

.. note:: **Copyright Notice Format**

   | Copyright *YYYY[-YYYY]* the Pacemaker project contributors
   | 
   | The version control history for this file may have further details.

The first *YYYY* is the year the file was *originally* published. The original
date is important for two reasons: when two entities claim copyright ownership
of the same work, the earlier claim generally prevails; and copyright
expiration is generally calculated from the original publication date. [1]_

If the file is modified in later years, add *-YYYY* with the most recent year
of modification. Even though Pacemaker is an ongoing project, copyright notices
are about the years of *publication* of specific content.

Copyright notices are intended to indicate, but do not affect, copyright
*ownership*, which is determined by applicable laws and regulations. Authors
may put more specific copyright notices in their commit messages if desired.

.. rubric:: Footnotes

.. [1] See the U.S. Copyright Office's `"Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office
       Practices" <https://www.copyright.gov/comp3/>`_, particularly "Chapter
       2200: Notice of Copyright", sections 2205.1(A) and 2205.1(F), or
       `"Updating Copyright Notices"
       <https://techwhirl.com/updating-copyright-notices/>`_ for a more
       readable summary.
