MORE ABOUT COPYRIGHT

The last entry concening the proposed change in the CR law brings me to a question I hear often about whether or not it is necessary to register the copyright on original written material before we submit it to publishers.

Generally speaking it is not. According to the copyright law, everything you write has copyright protection from the time it reaches a tangible form (when you get it written down)--whether you register it or not. Actually the only reason you need a registered copyright is if you are going to sue someone for stealing your material--it doesn't prevent people from stealing it. And how many of us are likely to sue someone--even if someone does steal an article or poem or whatever. About the only time there is enough money involved to bring a suit is if someone stole your novel and made it into a movie.

And even if someone does steal your material, and you want to sue, you can register the copyright after the infringement. The difference in registering before or after the infringement is that if not registered until after you can collect damages if you win; if registered before you can collect damages and lawyer's fees.

If you are writing for periodicals, most of them are copyrighted as a whole and your pieces will be covered under the magazine's copyright. When you sell a book, the publisher gets the book copyrighted for you--usually in your name (check the contract).