ST> could anyone give me a quick outline of what is 
 ST> required to register a 
 ST> trademark and copyright?  Also a guess as to the costs involved.

I don't know about trademarks, but anything you write is copyright
the moment you produce it.  A cheap way to establish that is to
produce a hard copy (and disk as well if you want to) and mail it to
yourself by registered post.  Then keep the envelope unopened until
needed.
 
 ST> PS. one more thing, are the disclaimers you see 
 ST> with shareware/software
 ST> worth while or are they a waste of time?
 
I don't know, but be careful that any disclaimer you write does
not attempt to take away rights enshrined in consumer leglislation.
This may constitute an offence ie. misleading behaviour.
 
 
More on copyright ... I've heard it suggested that a programmer 
assert their rights by a copyright screen message, plus place it in
several places in the program as data strings.  You may also place
it in a non-readable form (ROT 13 or some other simple code). This
won't increase your rights but may make proving theft easier.
 
I think you'll have to talk to a lawyer. Some have a $10 for 10 minutes
introductory offer.
 
LM.

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