Every artwork has value it can be low or high, but it deserves protection against theft. Copyrighting provides appropriate ownership to your creations as an artist.
Registration of a copyright is important for a writer as it protects your work from unauthorized use or copying. It also provides the owner of the copyright enjoy the maximum benefit of their work by licensing to raise capital. Registration is not important for copyright but it protects infringement of the owner’s right.
Thus, for a writer, it is highly advisable to register the copyright to protect and gain maximum benefit from their piece of art.
Also, there are certain things that every writer must know before publishing any written content on any medium, be it digital or print.
1. Who owns a copyright?
As soon as a person puts an idea into a form, whether on paper, a hard drive, a smartphone, or a recording device, the person owns the copyright of that creation.
The first draft no matter how inconsistent is protected by copyright law, even if the writer doesn’t publish it, or register it. The only exception is “works made for hire”.
This means if a person is a copywriter or content writer working for an employer, the person does not hold copyright, instead the employer does. If you publish a book in a collaboration with your partners, then all the creators jointly own the copyright.
2. What does copyright ownership mean?
As the owner of a copyright, the writer has the exclusive right to do, or to authorize others to do, the following:
- Reproduce the work in books or other forms and devices
- Sell, distribute, and commercially exploit the work
- Create derivative works; such as translations, adaptations, sequels, and abridgments
- Display or perform the work publicly, either live or in recorded form.
If anyone violates these exclusive rights, the copyright owner has a claim of infringement against the wrongdoer.
3. What’s protected by copyright law?
Literary works, musical works including lyrics, dramatic works, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, sound recordings, architectural works, and pantomimes, and choreographic works (if fixed in tangible form such as a video recording).
“But, what about characters and settings?” you might ask.
Well, if a character is as fully developed as, James Bond or a setting as distinctive as, the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s, book The Shining, the creator might be able to claim copyright protection.
The publisher should consider this a caution against writing something reminiscent of a well-known origin, or you could find yourself on the receiving end of some nasty and unsettling lawyer letters.
4. What’s NOT protected by copyright law?
Titles, names, short phrases, slogans, etc, are not protected by the copyright. Although these can be able to register as trademarks.
Raw data and objective information such as test results and statistics, although the method of organization, commentary, and analysis are copyrightable. A listing of information, such as phone numbers and addresses in a residential phone book, is not copyrightable.
Works that have not been fixed into a tangible form of expressions, such as improvisational performances and choreographic works which have not been written or recorded are not protected under copyrights
Ideas, procedures, methods, concepts, principles, discoveries, a description, an explanation, a treatment, a summary, or an illustration is copyrightable if it doesn’t contain a copyrighted work of another person.
5. Are copyrights transferable?
Oh yes!
You may transfer the entire interest to the copyright, but that is very rarely done. Instead, most writers grant licenses. A license is a right to use only; the creator retains the actual ownership of the copyrighted work. Licenses may be exclusive or non-exclusive, worldwide or geographically restricted, short-term or perpetual, royalty-free or royalty-paying, limited to particular media such as audiobooks, print, ebooks, or content in a particular language; the permutations are extensive.
Granting licenses can be as specific as possible, highly detailed, precise, and lawyerly.
6. How long will my copyright last?
A copyrights lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. If there are two or more authors; the life of the last surviving author plus 70 years. If the author is a corporation or other entity, then the copyright lasts 95 years from the first publication.
A copyright can last for upto a maximum of 120 years after the creation of the original material.
7. Is copyright international?
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an international copyright. However, many countries have adopted laws and signed treaties that provide reciprocal recognition of copyrights.
But no law is bulletproof protection against infringement. If your book is at all successful, then it’s likely to be pirated.
Also Read:- Top FREE writing tools to your aid
