Copyright Notice Listing
It is not required for an author to register your work or even provide a notice. But… there are reasons to protect yourself and what you created.
Copyright means the sole right to produce or reproduce a work in any form. And in most countries, a work – such as literature, music or software – is automatically protected as soon as it is created. Excluded are ideas, titles, names, facts and short phrases.
However, proving your claim may be a very difficult matter without proper evidence. Often it boils down to a case of “their word against yours”. Without proper protection, work that you have created, could end up making money for someone else.
Claims in US Courts:
• If you have registered your work before infringement, you can collect Statutory Damages plus attorney fees.
• If you registered after infringement, but before filing suit, you can only sue for Actual Damages – which you have to demonstrate.
Content of Copyright Notices in Your Book:
• The symbol © or the word “Copyright”
• The year of first publication of the work
• The name of the owner or creator
Where to Submit
Canada: online to the Copyright Office, Canadian Intellectual Property Office Web site
http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca (fee Can $50)
USA: online to the U.S. Copyright Office, via the Library of Congress
http://www.copyright.gov (fee US $ 35)
United Kingdom: online UK Copyright Service
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk (online registration are £39.00 for 5 years or £64.00 for 10 years per work. Uploads over 10MB are subject to a fee of 3p per additional MB)
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Copyright registrations become effective the day on which application and payment are received at the office, but it may take months until you receive the certificate.
Sources:
Copyright Portal
http://portal.brint.com/cgi-bin/cgsearch/cgsearch.cgi?query=copyrights
Canadian Guide to Copyright
http://www.cipo.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr02281.html
UK Copyright Law
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law
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How Do You Deal With Copyright & Plagiarism?
Unfortunately plagiarism is part of an authors life. You might find out about it when purchasing books from your “competition” or when you “Look Inside” books at online dealer’s and aggregators websites. If something seems to be suspect, buy the book. You can return it within a couple of days…
What to do if you find out that your work has been plagiarized?
Contact the (online) store who sells the copyright-infringed work, e.g. Barnes & Noble, Sony, Apple or (most likely) Amazon, which has a “Feedback” window on every page. One of the window’s option: “Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?” Click here Amazon takes Copyright Infringement seriously, not only for concern of their reputation, but also to avoid retribution from authors. The work, containing your copyrighted material will be removed within days.
But how can you protect yourself from plagiarism?
Invest $35 in your book and obtain a registered copyright. You will then be able to command a higher claim from an infringer: you can collect “Statutory Damages” plus all your Attorney Fees.
Print Copyright Notices in Your Book:
• The symbol © or the word “Copyright”
• The year of first publication of the work
• The name of the owner or creator
Sure, your manuscript has copyright from the moment you put “pen to paper.” However, if you did not register your copyright officially, or only after the infringement, you can only sue for “Actual Damages” – not so easy to demonstrate. Get all the addresses for several countries where you can register the copyright – in a former blog from January 28, 2012
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Hyper Smash
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Posted by ebooksinternational on June 9, 2012 in All things Legal, comment on posts, join the conversation, post to public, posting
Tags: Actual Damages, aggregators, Cease and Desist letter, copyright infringement, online book stores, Print copyright notice, register your copyright, Statutory Damages