: Re: Do I need to register my work to retain copyright? What are the legal issues when submitting work to publishers? is there a risk of having my work stolen? How can you protect yourself from

@Samaraweera193

Vote Up Vote Down

I am not a lawyer. The observations below apply in the US, I don't know much about international copyright law outside the specific area of software copyrights.

Here in the US, if you wrote something, you own the copyright on it, period. All you need in order to assert that copyright is proof that you wrote something, and when. There are many ways to do this. I tend toward digital signatures but that's the geek in me. Some people mail themselves a copy of their manuscript in a tamper-evident envelope so that they have the dated postmark on it and can prove it existed on the day it was mailed (note: keep it unopened until you get to court, so the judge sees you open it). Some people give a copy to their lawyer to hold. Some people simply share the work with enough friends/family that they figure enough witnesses will crop up if someone claims to have created the work.

If you aren't already familiar with cryptographic signatures, and a group of people or trusted neutral party who will sign your manuscript, the tamper-proof envelope is probably your most reliable, cheapest bet.

That said...

If you live outside the US, US copyright law will work differently for you, depending on what treaties we have with your country.

If you don't trust a publisher not to steal your work, why do you trust them enough to do business with them in the first place?

(0)

Login to post a comment!