Copyright your content
Things you may like to know about copyrights
You may be under the false impression that before you can get your text published, you must “get the copyright” to your own written material. You might also think that in order to get the copyright, you must “apply” for it. This is just not so. In the following few paragraphs, I’ll give you some simple facts about copyrights that may help you in your quest to get published.
First, it is important to understand that you cannot “copyright” an idea; you can only copyright what you have written. That is, you might have just written the greatest self-help manual on how to breed guppies. And you did, indeed, file for your copyright with the Library of Congress. Three weeks after completing the formal copyrighting process, you find out that the manager of your neighborhood pet store (where you’ve been buying your guppies) has just sold the TV rights to a new hit show “Breeding Guppies” and he is using many of the same principles that you’ve outlined in your manual on how to go about guppy breeding.
So, naturally, since this is the 21st Century and you live in America, you want to sue the guy. You think you have a sure thing, and you are dreaming of the million-dollar award that the jury is sure to give you. But…you’d better not put a down payment on that Guppy Farm in Iowa just yet.
The manual you wrote, the exact words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and chapters that you wrote, belong to you. It is illegal for anyone to reproduce or use any of that text, in part or in whole, for profit without your permission. However, you must be able to prove that your exact words have been stolen before you can get an award for copyright infringement. So, you know that guy with his hit TV series? Well, unless he’s reading from your manual word-for-word, or attempting to sell your manual as a supplemental text that he’s written, then he’s probably doing nothing illegal. He’s just using the idea of breeding guppies.
You do “own” the copyright to your text, all its words and clever phrases. And you don’t even have to file with the Library of Congress in order to have the copyright on your text. The copyright is conferred upon you the minute you write your New York Times Bestseller. All you have to do is be able to prove, beyond any doubt, the date that you wrote the material. For your protection, then, it is wise to print and date your material, and establish with a third party through a written communication that you have just finished your text. At that time, you can legally affix the copyright symbol (the letter c inside a circle) to your work.
Now here’s where a formal copyright comes in. By filing with the Library of Congress (and paying them their required application fee), you can establish definitively a date of copyright that will stand up in any court of law. Any judge or jury will defer to your date over someone else who can merely claim by word of mouth that his text came before yours. It’s a good idea to formally copyright any text that you are planning to market. So, if you’re convinced that the world population-at-large is in desperate need of “Breeding Guppies, What Every Ichthyologist Needs to Know” and you plan to sell it on Ebay for $19.95, you should apply for a formal copyright.
Just having the copyright, however, doesn’t mean that other people can’t quote your work. They may do so, as long as you are given full credit for having written it prior to their use. This is called a “reference” or a “citation” and generally, whatever passage is being quoted will appear offset in quotation marks (so that the reader can visualize which words belong to someone other than the author of the text in which the quote appears). Of course, at present the contingent of Copyright Police is not up to tracking down every single instance of copyright infringement, and chances are that not everyone cites original authors as scrupulously as they should, so beware of whom you casually let look at or read your text (or to whom you give a copy).
Copyrights are not forever. Typically, a copyright lasts for 50 years past the natural life of the original author. Authors’ heirs may sometimes re-apply for copyrights, but generally written texts that are this old are considered “public domain” and may be reproduced without paying the author’s family a royalty fee.
In the publishing world, you will find that many publications require that you relinquish your copyrights to the work in return for having your work published. This is a fairly standard procedure—unless your name happens to be Stephen King or Danielle Steele. Once you’ve relinquished your copyright to a given work, you can not sell or submit that text again unless you get express approval from the publisher that now owns the copyright.
There are sites on the World Wide Web where you can post your work for others to read or use as they see fit, so-called “free sites.” In cases such as this, there should be a disclaimer that anyone who uses or reproduces your work must give you full credit. Whether this happens all the time is certainly a matter for some speculation, but your safeguard is that you own the copyright and if you find that someone is profiting from your work and that you have not been compensated, you can file a copyright infringement suit against them.
As of the date of this article, the current copyright fee is $30. All the instructions and necessary forms can be found on U.S. Copyright Office’s web site: http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/. I have copyrighted several texts and advise that you mail your application with a “Return Receipt Requested” from the U.S. Post Office. This is your proof that the Copyright Office has received your copyright application.
Author Information: Jan Kovarik Jan K., The Proofer jankproof@aol.com
http://www.janktheproofer.com/
| DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware. |
More Website Content Articles
More By Developer Shed
 developerWorks - FREE Tools!
|
Join us for this on demand webcast to learn about developing complex systems more quickly and efficiently. We'll cover market drivers for developing, governing and reusing systems software assets and how you can develop system software assets with Rational Asset Manager.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
WebSphere Process Server delivers a unique integration framework that simplifies existing IT resources. Often, as IT assets grow to support business demand, so too does their complexity and manageability. In this webcast, we’ll discuss how WebSphere Process Server helps deliver an SOA infrastructure that provides a common model to orchestrate, mediate, connect, map, and execute the underlying IT functions. Discover how WebSphere Process Server simplifies integration of business processes by leveraging existing IT assets as reusable services without the complexities of traditional integration methodologies.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Visit IBM developerWorks to download the latest trial version of IBM Data Studio V1.1 at no cost. IBM Data Studio is a comprehensive data management solution that helps you effectively design, develop, deploy and manage your data, databases, and database applications throughout the data management life cycle utilizing a consistent and integrated user interface. Unlike other client-side data management solutions that focus on only one aspect of the application lifecycle or database administration, Data Studio complements the Rational Software Delivery platform, providing unparalleled flexibility for a heterogeneous data server environment across platforms.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Download a free trial version of IBM Rational Software Analyzer Developer Edition V7.0 to identify bug defects earlier in the software development cycle. Rational Software Analyzer is an extensible software development solution that reduces the expense of bug-fixes by enabling static analysis code reviews and bug identification very early in the development cycle.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Join this webcast to see how IBM Data Studio Developer and pureQuery can take the pain out of Java data access. uApplications developed using both Java and SQL have become a common requirement. Database connectivity using Java Database Connectivity (JDBC) to create an application is a multi-step tedious process, and tooling that covers both SQL and Java has been unavailable, until now. IBM Data Studio introduces the pureQuery platform: a high-performance, Java data access platform focused on simplifying the tasks of developing, managing, and optimizing database applications and services.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
As systems increase in complexity, communication between systems and software teams becomes more and more difficult. Now, there’s a way to improve product quality and communication.<br />Read the “Model Driven Systems Development” white paper to see how. Also included in this kit are more educational white papers, customer examples, tutorials, informative Webcasts, and best practices for designing, building and managing systems.<br />
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Get a free trial download of the latest version of IBM Rational Functional Tester V7.0.1. Rational Functional Tester is an automated functional and regression testing solution for QA teams concerned with the quality of their Java, Microsoft Visual Studio .NET, and Web-based applications.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Visit IBM developerWorks to try the IBM SOA Sandbox for people. The SOA Sandbox for people provides a trial environment with the necessary tooling and components required to enable consistent human and process interaction and collaboration, showing how you can improve user experience and business productivity.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
User communities play an important role in communication and collaboration around products, solutions and other areas of special interest to members. Successful communities are able to provide the right mix of content and services to deliver a value proposition that resonates with each audience. Join Tom Inman, VP of Marketing for Information and Platform Solutions as he introduces the new LeverageINFORMATION community. During this webcast, learn about the value provided by the community and how customers and partners derive value from the community in addressing their own technical and business challenges.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
Explore how Rational and WebSphere software enable enterprise documentation in SOA environments. Specifically, a new integration between IBM WebSphere® Business Modeler and IBM Rational® Method Composer software can help technical writers more easily keep enterprise operations manuals in sync with changes that are made to business processes, resulting in more accurate and timely documentation that benefits the entire enterprise.
FREE! Go There Now!
|
|
|
|
All FREE IBM® developerWorks Tools!
|
