Book Copyright Questions Answered

Writing a book and wondering how you can protect your work. Well, automatic copyright applies to all works as soon as you take them out of your head and put them on paper or screen. That said, copyright is not so cut and dried as just that. So if you want to know the answers to the most commonly asked copyright questions, well, you're in luck. And this video is for you. Hey there. I'm not an attorney, so if you have fancy questions or need specific advice on your copyright situation, I'm not your gal. But I am Julie the Book Broad founder of a fabulous self publishing services firm, Book Launchers. And at Book Launchers we help folks with filing copyrights and we answer basic questions around copyright and here on the channel. Well you my dear YouTube friends, have all kinds of copyright questions. So I've collected them all up and found some answers for you. Common question number one. How do I get an international copyright for my book? Also comes in the question of can I file for copyright protection in the US If I don't live there? In the US Copyright is a form of protection that is based on the US Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship in a tangible medium of expression. It covers published and unpublished works. In other words, copyright applies before you publish. When it comes to international copyright, there is no such thing. There's no such thing as international copyright. There are relations between countries that offer you some coverage or protection. You can search for the international copyright relations of the United States if you want to see the list of countries countries that cooperate. It does not cover every country. Anyone can file for copyright in the us. You do not have to live here to do so. If you want your work protected and defensible in the US that is what you should do. So all of that leads me to common question number two. If copyright applies as soon as work is made tangible. In other words, as soon as I take it out of my head and put it on paper or a Word document, why do I need to file for copyright? Could you hear my stomach growl? Well, you don't have to register with the Copyright Office to be protected, but you do have to register if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a US work. In other words, if you need to take an infringement to court, you'll need to have the facts of your copyright in public record and have a certificate of registration. Register works may be eligible for statutory damages and you could be awarded attorney's fees if you have to litigate and you win. Does filing copyright make my personal information available? The answer is yes. So pen name authors need to be aware of this. Under US law, you can't copyright a name. Real or fictitious copyrights protect authorship, not author names. There are other issues when you choose a pen name, like does somebody already use that name? If so, that can be considered identity theft or other issues there. So avoid names people already use as pen name selection. So you can't copyright your pen name. But also think this through when you file for copyright. If you are writing under a pen name to protect yourself, we have authors that write about heated subjects or write about their life as a spy and for obvious reasons want to protect their identity. You can register a manuscript under a pen name at the copyright office. So that won't be public, but you do need to include an address if you really want to keep your true identity under wraps. You you'll need to set up a post office box and have information from the office sent there so that it's not traceable or trackable to anyone doing public searches. And a quick note on this from my research, which means verify this if it's really important to you. Because I didn't get it from a legal source, I inferred it from what I read. But if a writer identifies herself or himself to the copyright office and registers the pen name with your real name, the copyright term for the work is is the author's life plus 70 years. But if the author is unidentified, you only give them the pen name. It's limited to 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation. So if remaining anonymous is very important, just know that it has a copyright consequence. Question number four. Who is the author under copyright law? If you work with a ghostwriter, what rights do they have? Well, under copyright law, the creator of the original expression is its author. In works made for hire, the employer or commissioning party is considered to be the author. The author is the owner, unless there's a contract by which they assign the rights to another entity, as is the case in traditionally book published deals. Now this is an important detail for indie authors because your copyrights are transferable, they can be sold or transferred in your estate. I talk about this frequently, but this is intellectual property and you can make money from your rights in many ways. So it's great to be the owner of it. So my friends, if you, if you have a great idea for a book, it's time to get it down on paper because ideas are not copyright protected and you need that work to file for your copyright. When you want to register for copyright, you'll submit a completed application with a fee and non returnable copies of the work to be registered online. Filing works the best, but you can submit with paper as well. Want more on copyright? Well, this right here is all about the copyright page in your book and what it needs to have. And this video right here is all about making money from your book because selling your rights is one of the ways you can make money. After you smash that like button and subscribe for all the great videos, head on over to one of these videos because I'm waiting for you and I can't wait to spend some more time with you.