Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published
Quoting the Bible is a frequent occurrence for Christian writers. But do you know your limits on what you can quote, understand how to format your verse(s), and the know the copyright credit you must give?
As I edit writers’ manuscripts, I find errors in all these areas, so let’s dive in and look at each one.
[Read more…] about Quoting the Bible – Doing It Correctly
So you’ve started a blog and are wondering if you should trademark your blog’s title.
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a trademark is a brand name and includes any word, name, symbol, device, or any combination thereof that is intended to identify the goods or services of a seller. Like the © symbol, the registered trademark symbol ® is familiar to us all, as is the TM. But that’s where the similarities end.
Applying for trademark registration is more far more costly (approximately 10X more) and complex than registering your copyright. In addition, certain criteria must be met.
Attorney Tonya Marie Evans says “Anyone who claims rights in a mark may use the superscript TM or SM (service mark) designation with the mark to alert the public to the claim.” It isn’t necessary to register or have a pending application to use the TM or SM. So while there is nothing stopping you from using the marks, “your claim may or may not be valid.”
Use of the ® is illegal until registration has been granted by the USPTO. Before you apply, you’ll want to complete a search (for a fee) to determine whether or not your brand is already trademarked. (I told you it was complex and costly.)
For a brief foray into the complexity of trademarks, see the USPTO guidelines page: http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/basics/index.jsp
For the fees involved, visit here: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/qs/ope/fee031913.htm#tm Paper filing $375, electronic $325. The USPTO encourages electronic filing.
Recommended reading: Literary Law Guide for Authors: Copyright, Trademark, and Contracts in Plain Language by Tonya Marie Evans.
Now is not the time to apply, but now is the time to think about your brand. Next week’s Tuesday Tip will take a look at developing brand strategy.
Debra L. Butterfield © 2013
Copyright infringement concerns many creative people, be they writers, musicians, movie makers, or otherwise. A complaint I hear from many beginning writers deals with copyrights and whether publishers will steal their stories. Having a rudimentary understanding of the law will put your mind at rest.
An idea is not copyright protected. According to attorney Tonya Marie Evans and author of Literary Law Guide for Authors, your idea submitted in a book proposal or screenplay pitch “may be protectable under state law.” Once you put your idea into a tangible form, i.e. a manuscript, your work is protected.
Whether or not your work carries the copyright notice (© symbol, year, name), it is protected under the law. However, displaying the notice negates at least one legal argument: “I didn’t know it was copyrighted,” aka innocent infringement.
You cannot file a copyright infringement suit unless your work has been registered with the Copyright Office. In other words, you can’t sue someone for using your material if it isn’t registered. For bloggers this does present a problem, but not an impossibility. Your blog content can be registered.
Registration within 3 months after publication has its benefits, both legally and financially. I registered my book Help! My Husband Has Sexually Abused Our Daughter as soon as I had the galley proof from my POD publisher. Information on copyright.gov is extensive and can answer many of your questions.
For further reading:
Before you can request permission to use copyrighted material you must know one very important item: who owns the right to grant permission. That right does not always belong to the author of the work. With books, it is often the publisher who holds permission rights. The info is generally found on the reverse side of the title page where all other copyright information is listed.
In today’s Internet world, many publishers now include how to ask for permissions along with what they consider fair use (word count varies widely). Some sites include tabs directly labeled “rights” or “permissions” or both. In other cases you may have to do a bit of searching on their site to find the information, and in other cases you will have to contact the company to gain more information. When what I’m looking for isn’t obvious, and a search yields no results, I often have success by referring to the “Contact Us” page.
Here is a list of information permissions grantors will need (please realize this is not an exhaustive list of the information you may be required to supply, and varies from publisher to publisher):
If your intended use is in a book, they’ll want to know:
If your intended use is on the Internet, at a minimum they’ll want the web address.
All these things determine the permissions fee. (Yes, there is a cost to using someone else’s material.) If you do not expect monetary gain from your use, tell them. It may lower the permission fee.
So you can get a better idea of how all this looks, here is a link to Baker Publishing Group’s online permission request form.
If this seems too overwhelming to you, and you have the money to spare, you can find assistance from the Copyright Clearance Center or from freelance permissions consultants.
Does online research intimidate you? Leave a comment below.
Debar L. Butterfield © 2013
There are a number of businesses that offer to help you obtain your copyright registration—for a fee, of course, and often an exorbitant one.
The process is not difficult, not costly, and generally not that time consuming either. You can accomplish it either online (costs $35) or by submitting paper forms (costs $65).
Here’s how:
And you’re done! You’ll receive your Certificate of Registration from the Library of Congress. Current processing time for online filing is 2.8 months.
Do you have a question about this process? Submit it in the comments and I’ll do my best to find an answer it.
Debra L. Butterfield © 2013
The Fair Use Doctrine relates to copyright law and is a limitation on an author’s copyright that allows for the limited use of copyrighted material without the author’s permission.
There are no set guidelines—no specific word count or lines that may be used—and the distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement isn’t always clear. It is always wise to cite your source, but citing the source doesn’t protect you against copyright infringement.
If you are quoting one or two lines from a book, you are more than likely within fair use. Always check the copyright page of the book first. Do not quote song lyrics without getting the correct permission.
Put yourself in the author’s shoes. If you had written what you want to quote, would you feel your copyright had been infringed?
If you’re unsure whether what you want to quote is within fair use, ask for permission or avoid using it.
Debra L. Butterfield © 2013
So you want to use part of someone else’s book/music/art/poem in your book. You’ve just entered the realm of copyright law.
Was that work published before 1923? If so, it has entered the realm of public domain. It can be freely used, but you must cite the original source. Some works published between 1923 and 1963 have also entered public domain.
You can begin an informal copyright search online. For items registered since 1978, here’s how:
From the Search the Catalog page you’ll have the option of searching by title, name, or keyword, as well as other options. The page offers instructions on conducting your search, along with another link for finding information on works registered prior to 1978.
Next Tuesday, we’ll take a brief look at the fair use doctrine. This series on copyrights will also include how to find out who owns the copyright, and how to obtain permissions. Be sure to visit every Tuesday for Tuesday’s Tip.
In the meantime, happy hunting.
Debra L. Butterfield © 2013