Dorrance's Author's Guide: The Dorrance Experience

T H E L A W, C O P Y R I G H T / F A I R U S E, P R O T E C T I O N A N D Y O U P A R T I

When anyone, acting on his or her own initiative, writes a book, article, play, story, poem, or any other written work or work of art, he or she is the author under the law and automatically possesses a copyright of the work, beginning at the exact moment of its creation. Under the law, then, the author automatically possesses some degree of legal protection of the work from the moment he or she creates it.

Registration is not necessary to "obtain" a copyright or to assure its validity, but it is a procedure which should be carried out by the publisher or, if the work is not being published, by the author or an authorized agent of the author. The act of registering a work with the United States Copyright Office allows for significant added protection of the work in that it puts on public record the exact details of the copyright claim. This is vital in cases of infringement. If an author of a work wishes to bring suit against another party for using parts of or all of his or her work without permission, the copyright registration is a legal prerequisite. Also in some instances registration allows the copyright owner to sue for statutory damages and attorney's fees rather than bringing suit for actual damages, which are often difficult or impossible to prove.

Dorrance and most other responsible publishers, both trade and subsidy, will formally register your work with the Copyright Office under terms of the publishing agreement. If an author is not having a work published, he or she may nonetheless register the work by submitting the required deposit materials, application, and fee with the Copyright Office.

For works created on or after January 1, 1978, when the new copyright law went into effect, the copyright runs from the time of the work's creation, throughout the life of the author, and for another fifty years thereafter. No renewal is necessary. For works created or published before January 1, 1978, the duration and nature of the copyright is more complex, and a publishing professional or an official of the U.S. Copyright Office should be consulted regarding the particular details of the copyright claim.

Any author interested in learning more about copyrights may contact any one of Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.'s Author Relations Representatives at 1-800-695-9599 for more information about the United States copyright laws, as they relate to a particular manuscript.

(The Law, Copyright/Fair Use Protection, and You #2)

(A Foot in the Door: Submitting Your Manuscript in the Proper Format)