6 Questions Writers Ask about Copyright and the Law
(Column by Chuck as well as
WD co-editor Brian Klems.
Please note that these guidelines below, while helpful,
should not take the place of formal legal advice.
We are editors, not attorneys.)
Imagine you’re at a writers’ conference. You’re getting
ready to pitch that great novel idea to a bunch of powerful agents. As you walk
up to the microphone, you start to notice all the other writers in the room
staring, pens and pads in their hands. That’s when the questions start flooding
your head. Should you have secured a copyright before spilling your idea
like this? Will other writers steal your concept? Can they do that? Will the
agents ignore your pitch because the book title comes from a Billy Joel song?
Don’t panic—a little paranoia is almost expected. It’s natural for you to want
to protect your work from others. Along with protecting your work from
pilferers, you also have to protect yourself from being sued for legal
infringement. As you compose your work and enter into the publishing world,
it’s vital to know how to navigate the murky waters of copyrights, libel and
other contractual small print. Here’s the scoop on some commonly asked
questions about copyrights and other rights.
Do I need to register my work with the U.S. Copyright
Office to hold a copyright on the work?
No. Your work is copyrighted the moment it hits a tangible
medium—everything from your scribbles on a piece of paper to your musings on
your Internet blog are protected. Putting the word “Copyright” or the copyright
symbol at the front of your text is optional. Using the Copyright symbol on
your manuscript is a topic of contention, though, as agents and editors see it
as the sign of an amateur—because they obviously know your work is protected.
Try to avoid inserting the symbol or the word “Copyright” when querying agents
and editors, but remember to use it when passing your work around—such as to
untrusted peers, other writers or on public forums (i.e., the Internet).
To sum up, your work is copyrighted the moment you write it.
Getting it registered in DC gives it something else — a “super copyright,” if
you will.
So since I do not need to “super copyright” my work to
have basic protection, is there any real incentive to doing so?
It depends on who you ask. If you ask us, it’s not worth it.
(Your publisher will copyright the work when it gets published.) If you ask a
lawyer, they would say Heck yes, because that’s what lawyers do.
Though it’s not mandatory, formally registering your work
will certainly help your cause in court should that scenario occur. If someone
plagiarizes your work and you take the thief to court, the possible
compensation and damages awarded to you are greater if your work is registered.
Our basic advice is this: If you’re really interested in
keeping your work safe, worry less about copyrights, and worry more about where
you’re pasting your work for all to see. Do not put the work out in a place
where you feel its unsafe. Remember: Agents and editors don’t steal stuff; writers
steal stuff.
I’ve heard that if I mail a copy of the printed work to
myself, that proves copyright. Is that true?
“Poor man’s copyright” is a questionably effective tactic
where you mail yourself a manuscript and never open the envelope, thereby
“proving” that you had written your work by a specific date. This is what the
U.S. Copyright Office said about the idea: “The practice of sending a copy of your
own work to yourself is sometimes called a ‘poor man’s copyright.’ There is no
provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is
not a substitute for registration.”
Nowadays, it’s cheaper and easier to simply e-mail the work
to yourself, which you should be doing 1) for copyright protection, and 2) just
to back up your own work. Although this process does not take the place of an
official copyright (a “super copyright”), like the U.S Copyright Office
confirmed, but it can indeed prove when exactly your words were written, and
that may be valuable ammunition in a legal battle.
Does a copyright protect ideas?
No. Let’s say you write a sci-fi story about a soldier who
battles aliens on the moons of Neptune. Your idea—or concept—cannot be
copyrighted, and therefore, can be used by anyone. If someone wants to try
their hand at the same basic premise (soldier, aliens, Neptune), they may, but
they can’t use your characters, dialogue or passages from your text. If
specific things from your story are stolen or copied, you can sue—but just
because someone ripped off your basic concept doesn’t make them culpable.
What are the legal ramifications of reproducing song
lyrics in a manuscript? Also, can I use a song title as the title of my book?
Song lyrics are copyrighted, which means you need permission
to use them. Although there isn’t any specific law about how much you can take
under fair use, it’s common for the music industry to say you need permission
for even one line of a song. Publishers will usually assist in securing
necessary permissions for you during the publishing process.
Differently, song and book titles of any kind generally
aren’t copyrightable—the only exception being those rare titles subject to
trademark or unfair competition laws. Titles that fall in this small category
are closely tied to a specific artist. (Think “Yellow Submarine” or “Stairway to
Heaven.”)
In a work of fiction, what restrictions exist on using
the names of professional sports teams, TV networks or real people?
If your character is a Dodgers fan that watches CNN and
walks past Rupert Murdoch on the street, you generally won’t have lawyers
calling for your head. You can use these well known proper names in your text
as long as you don’t intentionally try to harm the reputation of that person or
product.
Normally you won’t catch much grief for writing neutral or
positive words about real people, places and things. It’s the negative press
you provide that could be considered trade libel or commercial
disparagement—both ugly phrases that could cost you plenty of cash in a court
of law.
2 comments:
Jody, I am glad you put this article in your blog. I know I sometimes question whether I should use something in a story when it belongs to someone else...like a line from a song. Yes, I know the Cinderella story has been done a million times, but we cannot re-invent someone else's version of it.
@ Mary Jo. Sounds to me like you CAN re-invent someone else's version of it as long as you don't use their exact characters and you don't use their written lines. If someone wants to use a cucumber instead of a pumpkin for the coach, and rats instead of mice... they can't copyright that idea. It's yours to play with.
When I find a line I just love, I write it down and then I play with it and change it up to make it my own voice. But really, it was someone else's original thought. Or maybe not. Maybe they heard or read it and changed it up themselves and now it keeps morphing.
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