How to Tell If You’re Doing Copyright All Wrong
And what to do instead
Copyright is federal protection for work you create.
Let’s say you write a book (copyright applies to other creations such as music, but I know the world of books). You are instantly protected because you created the book in a fixed format, such as a computer file or a printout or handwritten on a legal pad. It is no longer an idea in your head (ideas, although delightful, cannot be copyrighted).
So far, so good.
I am an editor. Sometimes authors fear emailing me their full manuscript. They worry that someone will steal their work.
No one will steal your work. (Please do not send me emails telling me about the few times this actually happened or that pirates have republished your unprotected ebook on free sites.)
Ideas are a dime a half dozen, considering inflation, but until someone takes your precious idea and creates a story, writes a novel, or develops a product, ideas are out there.
Not Particularly Useful Ways to Declare Copyright
If you feel more comfortable putting the copyright symbol © on every page of your manuscript, fine. It’s not necessary. You are already protected by America’s copyright laws simply because you wrote your work in that fixable format thing.
Filing Form TX with the Library of Congress while you have a working draft of your book is not useful at all. The Library of Congress only wants your formal filing (with a check for $45 and two copies of your book) when the book is printed in paperback or hard cover or finalized as an ebook. In a final form. Done.
Do not mail yourself a copy of your printed manuscript. Some people mistakenly think if they mail themselves a copy of their book manuscript, in a sealed envelope, never opened, that the date on the postage meter affirms the date of their first copyright.
This is often called poor man’s copyright. You don’t need this type of date stamp, especially now with computer files, and you’ll be wasting paper and postage.
Absolutely Ridiculous Ways to File Copyright
I spoke with an author recently who said his golfing buddy was setting him up with an attorney who could handle copyright.
“What?” I asked. “Why?”
The author said, “He told me his buddy would charge about two thousand dollars to handle copyright filing.”
I replied, “I am going to save you a couple grand.”
So I explained that the lawyer was clearly misinformed or a huckster. You do not need an attorney to file your copyright.
You can read about copyright at the US Copyright Office, a division of the Library of Congress, and here is Form TX when you’re ready to fill it out for yourself. No legal fees required. Send me $2,000.
The US Copyright Office will mail you, eventually, a formal copy of that document you filed and duly note your ownership should someone rip you off. Just remember, the matter is a federal case and could be expensive because cases are tried in federal courts where you’d have to file your claim. New guidelines are as yet unclear about how to file copyright infringement in small claims court.
Your best defense is to get your book published, out to the world, enjoy the glory and the profits, and not worry about copyright.
I am not a lawyer. I read legal thrillers, which does not make me an expert on anything. Please consult an attorney if you have legal questions about your book and copyright, but make sure you are talking with an intellectual property attorney. The lawyer who handled your divorce (the subject of the memoir you wrote) is not the right person to deal with copyright questions.
Sandra Wendel is a nonfiction book editor and author of the award-winning book Cover to Cover: What First-Time Authors Need to Know about Editing. She teaches classes on how to write a book at Metropolitan Community College in Omaha and is a book award judge. She has never had a problem with copyright infringement, which may or may not say something about the quality of her writing.