DIGITAL MEDIA GHOST
  • Publication
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About
  • Publication
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About
Search

Stand Up For Your Copyrights!

6/14/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
by Will Viharo

It’s very easy to publish your own book these days. Unfortunately it’s also easy for someone else to re-publish your book – without paying you, without your permission, and often without your knowledge.
 
This means indie authors have to know their legal rights when it comes to protecting their own intellectual property from these thieves and pirates.

​The Atlantic recently published this alarming article about the rise of plagiarism in the self-publishing world, whether the works being uploaded are out of print or currently on the market.
 
Since there is no oversight of this DIY publishing industry (yet), it’s fairly easy and increasingly common for con “artists” to replicate an existing work and pass it off as their own. This is apparently an especially frequent malpractice in the popular Romance genre, which tends to be more formulaic than other genres (generally speaking).
 
Many times the victim isn’t aware of this rip-off until and unless a savvy reader discovers the similarities and alerts the author directly, especially if the book was self-published.
 
Unfortunately, indie authors are the easiest target, since they don’t have the official “shield” of a publishing company, and the bigger the company, the bigger the shield, at least legally.
 
For writers fending for themselves in this cold, cruel world, it’s necessary to take every precaution to prevent your work from being illegally duplicated.
 
This crime is not only financially unfair, but it can be morally dispiriting, since it’s essentially a form of identity theft. No one wants his or her own creative blood, sweat and tears co-opted by a stranger.
 
Signed, Sealed and Delivered
 
In my youth I often mailed Xeroxed copies of my manuscripts to myself and kept the envelopes sealed, since the postmark basically proved my original authorship by literally stamping a date on it via an official agency. That’s how I understood it, anyway.
 
That’s not longer necessary for multiple reasons, the most obvious being many books nowadays are digitally published anyway.
 
Ever since 1978, when the copyright law was updated, protections of intellectual properties have very much favored the creator, starting with the inception of the creation itself, not just its publication.
 
This is somewhat antiquated definition of publication according to the U.S. laws:
 
"Publication" is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication.
 
The United States Copyright Office has a very detailed explanation of the sundry pre-and-post-1978 laws on their website. It is fairly user-friendly and short on “legalese.”
 
But if that’s still too complex to comprehend, given all the variations and qualifications, Cornell University breaks down the rules in this convenient online graph, which is much easier to reference quickly.
 
According to that chart, if the work was published after 2002, which is most likely the case for anyone reading this, here is all you need to know about the length of your copyright: 70 years after the death of author. If a work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first.
 
So this means if you sign a contract with a publisher, your protections are expanded, of course – but then so is your ownership over your own property, since depending on the deal, the publisher might choose to cease publication of a work without returning the rights to its author.
 
Most of the time you can demand all rights as a matter of practical and legal recourse, but if you don’t have an agent or lawyer to look over the contract for you, make sure to study all the fine print.
 
If a publisher goes out of business, typically that means all rights automatically revert to the author, but again, make sure that is specifically clarified in the contract.
Picture
Indie Body Armor
 
In order to protect yourself, you should always include the following information on the copyright page of your eBook and it’s printed cousin:
 
Book title
Publisher name
Publisher URL
ISBN
Cover design by…
Cover art by…
Interior design by…
 
And of course that familiar little “c” thingy, for example: © 2016 Thrillville Press (or Will Viharo if the book is published by someone else, just to cover my assets.)
 
You can also add this traditional “warning statement”:
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written permission of the publisher (which can mean you).
 
According to the most popular reference guide on the subject, The Copyright Handbook, the latter is no longer required, but just to be safe, I’d include it anyway. Doesn’t cost you anything extra to be extra safe.
 
In the next column I’ll discuss which famous literary characters have fallen into the public domain and are safe to cast in your own fiction.
 
Meantime, keep your friends close and your books closer…

IMAGES: WILL VIHARO
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Become a Ghostwriter!
    Picture
    Contribute to DMG
    Picture
    BECOME A GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
    Picture
    PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS BY GUEST POSTING
    Picture
    ARE YOU A GHOSTWRITER? WE WANT TO KNOW!
    Picture
    DO YOU HAVE A GHOSTWRITING BUSINESS?

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Agency Spotlight
    Business
    Digital Marketing
    Ghost In A Flash
    Ghostwriting
    Media Relations
    Privacy Concerns
    Social Sabotage
    Technology
    Writer Spotlight
    Writing

    Advertising Disclaimer

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

Find your domain and create your site at Weebly.com!
Digital Media Strategy
Content Marketing
Law Firm Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Social Media Marketing
eBooks
Writing
Becoming a Ghostwriter
Blogging
Content Marketing
Ghostwriting Services
Guest Post Guidelines
Media Relations
Online Crisis Management
Personal Brand
Public Relations
Reputation Management
About
Our Team
Our Results
Testimonials
Contact Us
Locations:
New Orleans, LA
Nashville, TN

DMG University
Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Cookie Policy
Digital Media Ghost  @2020
  • Publication
  • #GhostsWriteIt Spotlight
    • Writer Spotlight Submission
  • Services
    • Digital Strategy
      • Content Marketing
      • Law Firm Marketing
      • Social Media Management
    • Ghostwriting
    • Public Relations
      • Social Sabotage & Online Privacy
        • Social Media Policy Template
  • About