Julie Broad (founder of Book Launchers) explains five key copyright facts for authors: copyright is automatic upon creating a work but registering with the U.S. Copyright Office (ideally within five months of publication) provides enforcement benefits; the copyright symbol is not required though a copyright notice is recommended; fair use allows limited quoting for criticism/teaching/news; copyright protects the underlying rights across formats (not just a single format); and ideas cannot be copyrighted—only their expression. The video includes a legal disclaimer that she is not an attorney and directs viewers to a follow-up video about what to include on a copyright page.
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You don't have to file with the US Copyright Office to get your book copyright protections. Copyright automatically applies as soon as you put words on a page. And maybe you knew that and you know why you should still file. But there are some other myths about copyright that a lot of authors may not know. If you want to test your copyright knowledge and make sure you know what you need to do to protect your work as an author, then this video is for you. Hey there. I'm Julie, the book broad of Book Launchers. Now I am a multi award winning author and the founder of Book Launchers, but I am not an attorney. So consulting with your own trademark and copyright attorney on anything that is important to you is what I would always recommend. So you can post comments and ask me questions, but I don't have all the answers. Your attorney does. But I can tell you five things you should know. Number one, copyright is automatic. If you don't file for copyrights, you still own the copyrights. Not filing with the US Copyright Office within five months of publication, however, does reduce your ability to deal with copyright infringement. For example, filing enables you to be eligible to get legal fees and damages if you win in court. Again, you still own the copyright if you don't file. But there are benefits to taking that extra step and filing if you ever have to defend your work. Two, you don't have to use the copyright symbol to get copyright. They're automatic. You should put the copyright notice in your book though. And in case you don't know what to do, I have a video on what your copyright page should say, so I'll link to that at the end. 3. Just because a work is copywritten, including yours, does not mean it can't be used by someone else. Remember, fair use defense. Someone can quote your work word for word for the purposes of criticism, teaching, research, or in a news report without the need for permission from you or compensation to you. 4. Your copyright protects your rights, not the format. So, hi, you're here to talk copyrights. Number four, we got an assistant for this one. Your copyright protects your rights, not just the format. So for example, if you've written an ebook and someone else publishes the audiobook, can I talk about. Okay, so you could say right here, you could say, so all of the books I've drawn are protected. Okay, you say that all the books I drawn are protected. They sure are. As soon as you drew them, they became protected. Okay, why don't you go now? All right, so here we are again. Number four, your copyright protects your rights not just the format. So for example, if you've written an ebook and someone else publishes the audiobook or does a print format, the that's copyright infringement because you own the rights to the work, not just the work in that single format. It's one of the reasons I love being an indie publisher. Because I can license my work to a foreign publisher, I can sell the story to a TV producer, I can produce the work in many different formats like a course or a talk, and I own the rights to do that. When you sell your work to a traditional publisher, they own the rights to do all those things from your book content. Make now smash that thumbs up button. If owning your intellectual property makes you happy, it sure makes me happy. Number five, you can't copyright ideas, so that great book idea you have is not protected until you bring it to life. You can only copyright the expression of an idea, not the idea itself. So get writing my friends, and claim your brilliance. Now that you know all this, you're probably wondering what that copyright page looks like. Well, that video is right here for you if you're feeling good about that. YouTube thinks this is the video that you need to see next. And if you want me to cover a totally different topic, tell me in the comments below. And commenting the day a video comes out makes you my friend and gets you entered to win some sweet noboringbookswag. And I'll probably shoot a video to answer your question. So go ahead, click here or comment there. I can't wait to connect.
