Early in their careers, writers sometimes sign away valuable rights under less than favorable terms. This article discusses the important right of termination under US copyright law, which allows writers to reclaim such rights in their works and to try to make a better deal.
Writers are sometimes confused by the “registration” requirement under the US copyright laws. In this post, I hope to clear up the concept and help you decide whether copyright registration makes sense for you.
A US District Judge has rejected an agreement between Google and some members of the book industry. If the deal had been accepted Google would have put millions of additional books online, in most cases, without the author’s permission.
Determining when work passes into the public domain is tricky. There are resources online that can help.
Copyright, literally, is “the right to copy.” It guarantees the authors of creative works–including books, artworks, films, recordings, photographs–the exclusive right for a set period of time to allow other people to copy and distribute the work, by whatever means and in whatever media currently exist. It also prohibits copying and distributing without the author’s permission. You own copyright by law, automatically, as soon your work is fixed in tangible form–i.e., the minute you write down the words.
A few questions answered and a few myths debunked regarding Copyright.
They cheat death, share lives and memories, and communicate across nations and time. They have an epic history, an almost magical memory, and a very modest mission: to make the world better, a little bit at a time.
David D. Levine is the author of over fifty published SF and Fantasy stories. His work has appeared in markets including Asimov’s, Analog, and F&SF and has won or been nominated for awards including the Hugo, Nebula, Sturgeon, and Campbell.
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