When I was starting out as a professional writer, taking workshops or just chatting around the cafeteria table, the question was a sure sign that you had an amateur on your hands:
“But what if an editor steals my stuff?”
These same newbies were more obsessed with where and how they should type their “© by…” line than they were with writing something steal-able.
“Copyright is automatic,” I’d sniff smugly, longing to add, “Believe me, you have nothing to worry about.”
Of course, in those days, the IBM Selectric was the most advanced “word processor” available.
Email hadn’t been born and the Internet was in diapers.
You mailed your article to your editor, maybe even couriered it — or faxed it if the publication was particularly fancy.
Today, editors (and bloggers and other writers) do steal your stuff, because it’s so easy, and because notions of right and wrong are in flux.
At the same time, thanks to the same technology that makes theft so commonplace, copyright law has become harder to understand.
If you’re a writer, however, you have to at least try.
In particular, many Canadians and Brits blithely assume that U.S. libel laws must be roughly similar in pernicious effect to those in their home countries. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Libel law in the U.S. is the Hound of the Baskervilles - it DOESN'T bark. Indeed, some states such as New York and California have strict laws so citizens sued abroad of libel can countersue in their home states.
In particular, many Canadians and Brits blithely assume that U.S. libel laws must be roughly similar in pernicious effect to those in their home countries. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Libel law in the U.S. is the Hound of the Baskervilles - it DOESN'T bark. Indeed, some states such as New York and California have strict laws so citizens sued abroad of libel can countersue in their home states.
§ 411 . Registration and civil infringement actions
(a) Except for an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a), and subject to the provisions of subsection (b), no civil action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title.
§ 411 . Registration and civil infringement actions
(a) Except for an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a), and subject to the provisions of subsection (b), no civil action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title.
Beyond that, the author has sacrificed substance for chirpiness, with the result that she confusedly conflates copyrights, defamation, and trademarks without saying anything much of substance about any of them.
What she does say is mostly wrong---or, at best, superficial and largely misinformed. She has fallen hook, line and sinker for the... (show more)
Beyond that, the author has sacrificed substance for chirpiness, with the result that she confusedly conflates copyrights, defamation, and trademarks without saying anything much of substance about any of them.
What she does say is mostly wrong---or, at best, superficial and largely misinformed. She has fallen hook, line and sinker for the specious argument that "copyright restricts the public domain" and that this supposed restriction is a drag upon creativity rather than a stimulant of it. She has fallen for the cheap anti-copyright propaganda of a humor-magazine piece breathlessly retailing supposed "hypocrisies."
It is true that creatives in general, and particularly those whose work appears primarily online, need to know something about copyright. They will not find it here. (show less)
Registration in the US is a good idea, but lack of registration before infringement only reduces the remedies, it does not make the copyright unenforceable (as a result of the US joining the Berne Convention three decades ago). One does have to register prior to litigation in the US, which is not difficult to do.
Your comment would have led to people feeling the need to rush off and start filing uneconomical copyright registrations.
Registration in the US is a good idea, but lack of registration before infringement only reduces the remedies, it does not make the copyright unenforceable (as a result of the US joining the Berne Convention three decades ago). One does have to register prior to litigation in the US, which is not difficult to do.
Your comment would have led to people feeling the need to rush off and start filing uneconomical copyright registrations.
but who is to say someone in who register a "same works" claiming to be the author of what ever was not the author. The real Author could sue.
but who is to say someone in who register a "same works" claiming to be the author of what ever was not the author. The real Author could sue.
If they did not have a registration certificate in hand when the suit was filed, it was in the course of being processed by the Copyright Office, and the work would have had to have been registered before the court would permit the case to go forward---because without registration there would be no case.
Read the copyright law; it is quite clear that registration is a necessary prerequisite to litigation. The fact that the copyright comes into being with creation does not make it ENFORCEABLE.
If they did not have a registration certificate in hand when the suit was filed, it was in the course of being processed by the Copyright Office, and the work would have had to have been registered before the court would permit the case to go forward---because without registration there would be no case.
Read the copyright law; it is quite clear that registration is a necessary prerequisite to litigation. The fact that the copyright comes into being with creation does not make it ENFORCEABLE.
Since 1978, no registration no court case. Sorry to intrude on your fantasies.
Since 1978, no registration no court case. Sorry to intrude on your fantasies.
If you do not register prior to INFRINGEMENT, you are barred from claiming statutory damages and attorney's fees. Your recovery is limited to PROVABLE ACTUAL DAMAGES, which in most cases are negligible and the case therefore not worth pursuing. The threat to an infringer of having to pay not only its own legal expenses for defense, but the expenses of the aggrieved plaintiff, is often the key in being able to get a quick settlement, either prior to litigation or shortly after... (show more)
If you do not register prior to INFRINGEMENT, you are barred from claiming statutory damages and attorney's fees. Your recovery is limited to PROVABLE ACTUAL DAMAGES, which in most cases are negligible and the case therefore not worth pursuing. The threat to an infringer of having to pay not only its own legal expenses for defense, but the expenses of the aggrieved plaintiff, is often the key in being able to get a quick settlement, either prior to litigation or shortly after the initial papers have been filed. I have experienced this on behalf of clients many times.
As to "uneconomical copyright registrations," one can register any amount of work---any quantity of work---on a SINGLE registration form, as long as that work is all UNpublished at the time of registration. Furthermore, one may group-register contributions to periodicals (and blogs count as "periodicals") AFTER publication, using the proper forms---and, if that registration occurs within THREE MONTHS of first legitimate, intended publication, the law will treat any infringement which occurs between that first legitimate publication and the registration as if the registration had occurred PRIOR to the infringement, thus allowing the plaintiff to claim statutory damages and attorney's fees.
In short, registration is necessary for enforcement; pre-infringement registration is necessary for the best remedies; group registration is quite economical and readily available. (show less)