I just finished my ebook this morning, and I'm looking to get it copyrighted. However, I'm reading on the net that it may take as much as $150 to $250 just to get it copyrighted, and this is a lot since I'm on a tight budget. Does anyone know an affordable source where I can copyright my work? I live in the United States. Also, how effective is a copyright. I mean, whats stops someone from Russia or Hong Kong from using the book, and if they do, what can I do about it?
As far as I know all you have to do is add the little copyright symbol to your work and that's it, anything you write is automatically covered by copyright. I know there is also a service you can pay for, but I'm not sure what extra protection this gives you. Like you say, there isn't much to stop anyone from copying you, short of expensive legal action.
Yeah, I agree. If someone really wants the ebook, they will take it. And the copyright notice can deter many people. They would have to dig to find out if its really copyrighted, and if a copyright is like a patent, checking to see if a work is copyrighted will actually cost money. Does mailing the book to yourself as certified mail still work? I've done that before, but I've heard that it doesn't work anymore.
Your work is technically copyrighted once you've created it. And the current fee to register a copyright is only $45 if you want to go through a formal registration. There's no reason to pay anyone $150-250 to do it for you.
Yes your work (as long as it is original) is automatically copyrighted, however the cost of registration covers you legally not in the sense of copyright, but say if someone copies your work, since you have evidence that you registered it, a court would rule in your favour as you have proof of ownership. Now to do this without the large bill, simply email yourself your ebook (as this will include the date on the email) and keep it safe and don’t delete it. This way if things come to course you have proof of ownership (as the email is dated) whilst the other party would not be able to provide any evidence suggesting they had the ebook before you. I hope you understand.
Excellent. I emailed the book to myself this morning. Wow, that sounds cool. Who can register it for $45?
Unfortunately, it's hard for dates to hold up in court like that, b/c they're very easy to manipulate. So a buyer could manipulate the creation date of the file, and emailing something to yourself is useless in a legal sense. However, they do have some kind of certified services out there for dating electronic files I believe. And anyone can register for $45. Just visit www.copyright.gov
Yes that is true, however To strengthen the proof you could consider witnesses who can witness the date, content and time or go to an internet cafe that requires you to sign in with your name and a date. Print a dated copy of your work and ask at the counter if they could witness and sign the date as correct. You could also ask friends to print a copy of the ebook on the internet which would have the date on. This inline with your email will generate a stronger case; although not completely foolproof it is the next best thing to registration. By the way you can register for as little as $45 at http://www.copyright.gov/register/literary.html. Hope this helps.
Seriously though, unless your ebook is an Amazon best seller there is no way in the world it's going to be worth your time to go to court. Especially as there is a good chance the offenders will be overseas. It's not like on TV, chances are there is very little that will get done. You'd be better off spending that time and money developing new products.
Why not create a site (or a blog) where you can describe your ebook and sell it? This way, you earn and at the same time have something to prove that you wrote the thing. You can add some buttons for buyers to pay you for it. You can send the ebook thru email only to those who pay you.
Sending it as an email to one self is a pretty cool idea. An email will store details like time, date, IP address of the machine from where it was sent. That sounds like a good proof. And its the cheapest option as well. suvi
It's not good proof, and isn't close to enough to hold up legally in court. It's simply too easy to manipulate the date and time on a system before sending and such (especially if you're sending and receiving from the same place). It's the same reason the "poor man's copyright" doesn't really work anymore. It was too easy for people to manipulate it by having envelopes pre-stamped and dated by the post office, and then adding something to it later on.
Yes jhmattern as I mentioned earlier nothing is fool proof when it comes to the poor mans copyright, however as I mentioned in the quote below, if you follow those guidelines without registration you would have a pretty wealthy collection of evidence pointing in your favour, I understand that dates and times can be adjusted onto a computer which would intern reflect on the data sent however the café idea is a nice way to validate a piece of work (I edited the section). In this case it is unlikely that an ebook would get to court anyway. But for people who need copyright for something more serious I would suggest registration as I have mentioned below. I hope this clears some things up.
I was responding to the person above me (not your post) insisting it was a good protection idea, and it's flat out not. It's always a good idea to have as much evidence as possible, but much of it really means next to nothing. Frankly, if it ends up in court, all of that other stuff really does mean nothing (at least in the US), b/c you can't sue someone for infringing your copyright unless the copyright is registered. If you don't register it, you won't be taking it to court, so there's no point in other evidence. You can register it after the fact, but you'll lose some rights to what you can receive if you win. What those other things are good for is backup if you send a c&d to someone using your work without the rights to it. It lets them know you're taking it seriously, and it rarely goes beyond that.
I am sorry jhmattern I completely agree with you. I was simply suggesting ways in which a person could gather evidence in their favour for copyright. Registration is the only secured way of copyrighting in America anyways. Please note however the following quote: Visit the full article on at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright#Obtaining_and_enforcing_copyright. But come on just register the ebook if it means so much lol.
It's "granted" automatically. But you're not allowed to take it to court without that official registration. That's the kicker. (Always go with the official source - www.copyright.gov - before wikipedia.) The official site lays out answers to these kinds of questions quite well. So I'd suggest the OP go read some of the FAQs there to start with.
Hmmm...for all of the discussion and back and forth here...I would just spend the lousy $45 and copyright the thing yourself! BTW, I just looked at the copyright site and there is a proposal that on or about July 1, 2007, the copyright fee be reduced to $35 for electronically submitted items. Just an FYI...
if you are prepared to take part in the copyright office's beta test it should only cost $35: http://www.copyright.gov/eco/beta-request.html