What Does It Mean To Copyright Something


Large copyright sign made of jigsaw puzzle piecesane.   Who owns a copyright?

As shortly every bit you put an thought into a fixed form, whether on a pad of newspaper, a hard drive, a smart phone or a recording device, you own the copyright in that creation. Your first draft, riddled with typos, inconsistencies and clichés, is protected by copyright law whether or not you lot polish it, publish it, register it or mark it with a ©.

The only exception is “works made for rent” when the employer, or in some cases the person commissioning the piece of work, owns the copyright.  See my earlier post well-nigh Work-for-hire.

If you collaborate on a project, and then all the creators jointly own the copyright.

ii.  What does copyright buying hateful?

Every bit the owner of a U.Due south. copyright, you lot accept the exclusive right to practice, or to qualify others to practice, the following:

  • Reproduce the work in books or other forms and devices;
  • Sell, distribute, and commercially exploit the piece of work;
  • Create derivative works, such as translations, adaptations, sequels, and abridgements; and
  • Display or perform the work publicly, either alive or in recorded grade.

If anyone violates those exclusive rights, you have a claim of infringement confronting the wrongdoer. Of course, there are exceptions. There are e’er exceptions, and exceptions to the exceptions. The well-nigh common is Off-white Use, which I volition draw in a later post.

The U.S. Copyright Office has a number of informative circulars on topics from registering poems to licensing.

3. What’s protected by copyright law?

Literary works, musical works including lyrics, dramatic works, pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, sound recordings, architectural works, and pantomimes and choreographic works if fixed in tangible form such as a video recording.

What nearly characters and settings? Mayhap. If a graphic symbol is equally fully adult as
Harry Potter
or a setting as distinctive as
Panem
in
The Hunger Games, the creator might be able to merits copyright protection. Only consider this a circumspection against writing something likewise reminiscent of a well-known character or setting. Y’all could discover yourself on the receiving finish of some nasty and unsettling lawyer letters.

iv. What’due south NOT protected past copyright law?

  • Titles, names, curt phrases, slogans, although you might be able to register these every bit trademarks. Meet my before post Tin Book Titles Be Protected?
  • Raw data and objective data such as test results and statistics, although the method of arrangement, commentary and analysis are copyrightable. A listing of data, such as telephone numbers and addresses in a residential phone book, is not copyrightable.
  • Works that have not been fixed into a tangible form of expression, such as improvisational performances and choreographic works which have not been written or recorded.
  • Ideas, procedures, methods, concepts, principles, and discoveries. A description, explanation, handling, summary or illustration of whatsoever of these is copyrightable, merely not the underlying concept. I’ll elaborate on protecting ideas in a later post.


books eunice sleepynekofive.  Is a copyright notice required?

Non technically, but use it anyhow. Put information technology near the front end of your book. If your work is property marked, and so an unauthorized used may not claim that he or she was “innocent” and you may be able to recover a larger award.

The copyright notice has iii parts.

  1. © or Copyright .
  2. Year of first publication, which mostly means the year the work was first distributed to the public. On unpublished material, the notice should read: “Unpublished Work © yr author.
  3. Name of copyright possessor, which may be a pen name or the name of an entity such every bit a corporation. If there are more 1 copyright owner, name all of them.

You should add “All Rights Reserved” because the phrase is required in some foreign countries.

6. Are copyrights transferable?

Oh yep. And they are sliced and diced into various pieces.

Yous may transfer the entire interest in the copyright, simply that is very rarely washed. Instead, near writers grant licenses. A license is a right to apply only; y’all, the creator, retain actual ownership of the copyrighted work. Licenses may exist exclusive or non-exclusive, world-wide or geographically restricted, short-term or perpetual, royalty-free or royalty-paying, limited to particular media such as audio books, print, ebooks or a item language; the permutations are extensive.  If you grant licenses, be every bit specific as possible. Put everything in writing. Vague descriptions and fuzzy details are non your friends. Details are. Examples are. Be redundant, precise and lawyerly. There is no mode to overdo it.

seven.  Will I ever get back my copyright?

A license understanding is an on-going agreement. If the licensee fails to perform equally promised, then you may be able to finish the license. For instance, if your publisher fails to release your book inside the time stated in your contract or fails to pay royalties, you may exist able to terminate. Only team upward with an experienced attorney before you start sending termination threats.

Under current law, whatever grant of rights, whether an assignment or license, is terminable afterwards thirty-five years. This provision was intended to benefit artists who, for a few dollars, sold creations that went on to be worth millions. The classic instance is the case of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, who sold the rights to Superman for $130 in 1940. These artists and their families accept fought for decades to regain their rights or a share of the profits.

8. Is publication required?

Non anymore. However, publication (i. e.; distribution to the public) is still important. The date of publication may determine the duration of the copyright. The year of publication should be included in the copyright notice in order to inform the public of the copyright claim and year of commencement.

9. How long will my copyright concluding?

A copyright lasts for the life of the writer plus seventy years. If there are 2 or more authors, use the life of the final surviving writer plus 70 years. If the writer is a corporation or other entity, then the copyright lasts 95 years from first publication, just not longer than 120 years after creation of the copyrighted material.

10.  Should I register my work with the U.S. Copyright Function?

Absolutely. Registration establishes a public, searchable tape of your claim and is required before an infringement suit may be filed. Prompt registration (within three months following publication) increases the damages you lot might recover in an infringement action. Register your work every bit soon as information technology is in reasonably finished grade. On-line registration is currently $35, so there is no alibi for delay. You lot so mail in ii copies of your work.

11. Is my copyright international?

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an international copyright. However, many countries accept adopted laws and signed treaties which provide reciprocal recognition of copyrights.

But no police is bulletproof protection against infringement. If your book is at all successful, then it’s likely to be pirated. If the infringers are overseas, there is picayune you can practice without spending an inordinate amount of fourth dimension and money. It’south best to take a certain level of piracy equally part of the business organisation and move on.

Do you have questions? Please postal service them in comments. I would love to know.

All photos used under Creative Commons Attribution License
Copyright puzzle pieces by Horia Varlan on Flickr
Books by  Eunice Sleepyneko on Flickr

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Source: https://helensedwick.com/11-things-every-writer-should-know-about-copyrights/

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