A Writer's Edge

Copyrights

By Georganna Hancock

Beginning writers are often confused about copyrights and worried that someone will "steal" their work. The most important fact about copyright, aside from the fact that the word is better used as a noun than a verb, is that copyright law automatically covers anything you create in a tangible format (including on a hard drive). Period.

 

You don't need to register the copyright or ensure that the copyright symbol appears on the manuscript to be covered. However, if you ever need to sue someone for infringing on your copyright, you'd have a better case if it were registered. The chances of your work being illegally copied are tiny. Don't worry about it.

 

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You may have heard of a "poor man's copyright," supposedly achieved by mailing yourself a copy of your work and not opening the envelope. It's a myth, a waste of postage. You work is already protected by copyright law, and a postmark means nothing.

If you want to read the official version of copyright law, visit http://www.copyright.gov. You can register your work for $45 (by the time you read this an electronic registration process may be in effect, reducing the fee to $35). The government's website has a full explanation of all the details and ramifications of a copyright and shows how to register all types of creative works.

 

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For a more informal discussion of the matter, visit Brad Templeton's website at http://www.templetons.com/brad/copyright.html. His is the origin of the list of copyright myths, now copied all over the web. Another resource is attorney Ivan Hoffman's site at http://www.ivanhoffman.com/. His articles are a little dense, but probably reliable information. If someone copies your work and takes credit for the writing, it's called "plagiarism," but that's also a violation of your copyright. It's more likely to happen on the Internet than in print publications.

Copyrights © 2007 by Georganna Hancock from
A Writer's Edge at http://www.writers-edge.info/Copyrights.htm

Copyright © 2007 Georganna Hancock