Copyright Insights

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Aspiring Authors Want to Know...

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed.

Did you know...
*  That everything you write is copyrighted whether you take the time to register for a copyright or not?  No formal notice of copyright is required.  (However, you will need to register if you want to bring a copyright infringement lawsuit)
*  You do not have to be published to have a copyright.
*  You cannot copyright the name of your book.
*  Copyright protection extends to the WAY you write down words and not your ideas.  Someone else can write on the exact same topic, they just can't copy the way in which you've ordered your words to do so.
*  The information you create on your website (and blog) are protected by copyright.  Your domain name is not.
* If you register your book and then make minor editorial changes, you do not have to re-register.  If you add another chapter, you would.
* There are separate filings for published and unpublished books, so if you seek official copyright protection prior to publication, you'll be paying two registration fees
* Generally speaking, copyright protection lasts the length of the author's life PLUS 70 years.
* Fan fiction technically violates copyright because it uses someone else's characters.
* To indicate you intend your work to be protected, use the (c) symbol or "copyright" [year] , [your name].

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