Who can own or claim rights to your freelance work?
(This is part 2 of a three-part series on copyrights for freelancers. Part 1 covers the basics.)
A variety of entities may be eligible to register or claim rights attached to protected material. The author – defined in regulations as “the person who originally created the work or, if the work was made for hire, the employer or other person for whom the work was prepared” – comes first. Be sure you know how you are being contracted to produce an assigned work. Know what rights you retain after producing a piece for anybody.
Then, depending on what you, as author, decide to do with your work, and what agreements are made about the long list of rights that can be protected, others may have some claim. The copyright claimant is the author or someone to whom the author has transferred or otherwise bestowed rights. A writer needs legal advice if the work is significant – those publishing contracts are detailed, more than a little cloudy, and not to your benefit.
The owner of exclusive rights may claim a chunk. That may be a magazine publisher who contracts for First American Serial Rights of your article. They can register that piece of the rights, though the rest of the rights are reserved for you or someone else. This is where it gets murky. Have legal help on your side before you sign any contracts – it doesn’t cost much to have an attorney to read fine print; you’ll build a relationship to serve you well as your writing life gets more complex. You will learn a lot about choices.
The duly authorized agent working for the author, the claimant, or owners of rights may file a registration. That means your literary agent or lawyer can do the legwork for you, but there is no regulation compelling you to fire someone to do it.
Copyrights may be registered by letter via surface mail, by a downloaded form or electronically – part 3 of this series covers those issues.
Is copyright forever?
The most often misunderstood component of owning the rights to a created work is this one: How long does the copyright last?
Subquestion – what do you have to do to keep the sweat of your brow, the product of long hours slaving over a demon keyboard, from becoming public domain?
You’re going to love this answer – thanks to the change of copyright law in 1978, your work is yours for your entire lifetime, plus 70 years. Remember, that happens automatically from the moment you document the creation of your work. And registered or not, you may display the copyright symbol on your work. But you don’t have to.
If you do it, there’s protocol, just like when you fly the American flag and rules apply. The symbol is, of course, a letter “c” in a circle. You may also choose to use the notation “Copr.” Or even “Copyright.” But that little circled “c” is such a recognizable badge, and it feels so good to see it branding the fruits of your labor, that most writers use it. Whichever way you go, the notation should be reasonably visible and followed by the year of first publication, if applicable, plus the name of the entity that holds the rights. Like this:
© 2004 Jane Author
What do copyright experts suggest?
Eugene R. Quinn, Jr, patent attorney and law professor and of-counsel to the firm Hiscock & Barclay, underlines the need to be reasonably concerned about ownership and control of your work. No need to get so paranoid that you display the copyright symbol on work you’re submitting to a magazine or newspaper publisher – they’ll just see you as an amateur.
But the writer’s path, as we all know, is long, and arduous with an assortment of pitfalls and tangles. The work isn’t easy. Rewards are inconsistent. Your rights are precious. Quinn says,
“As Internet usage grows, new legal questions associated with the technology continue to surface, as do certain bitter and painful business realities. The sad but simple truth is that digital communications and the digitization of information of all types make the infringement of intellectual property rights, particularly copyrights and trademarks, easier than ever before. For support of this statement one need look no farther than the myriad of examples of copyright piracy that are plaguing the Internet.”
This trend is not only affecting digital venues and electronic works, it’s escalating in other areas as a “bulletin board morality” creeps into our culture mentality. You only have to scan headlines to find instances of plagiarism and misappropriation of text – remember the case of Jayson Blair, eager young New York reporter who made a (short) career of stealing quotes, information and ideas from other work.
During the past 30 years, the copyright system has changed in your favor. It is easy and inexpensive to register your rights. In fact, doing it yourself should pose no problem. For everyday articles and snippets, or even a work-in-progress, recording evidence of its creation and existence is pretty simple, too, and should serve you well in general terms. Ask your legal adviser about details that may pertain to your particular needs, and keep your eyes and ears open to changes in the law.
If you’re interested in exact regulations and complications surrounding use of the diminutive circled “c”, check the Code of Federal Regulations (37 CFR Section 201.20), available on the Copyright Office Web site, or you may request a publication called Circular 3 from the same office.
They provide goodies like announcements affecting copyright, other circulars and application forms, and a newsgroup. You can write, via regular mail, to Library of Congress Copyright Office, Publications Section LM-455, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington D.C. 20559-6000. Phone number is (202) 707-3000.
Read Part 3 – How to register your copyrights
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