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Ideas For Web Masters, From A Web Mistress With Information To Share.
Copy Right Law
Copy Right means just what the name implies, the right to copy. This area can be a bit tricky. You don't want any trouble from irate authors, publishers, or their lawyers. On the other hand, you don't want to bypass a great piece of work, either. Public Domain are works that have no exclusive legal right to copy attached to them. Original Books that fall under this catagory, may be published by anyone. |
Public Domain
Almost anything written before 1901 would be public domain. There are some notable exceptions. Estate held works that are still in publication have the copy rights still in effect. Fred Friendly had to obtain permission to produce the "Little House On The Prairie" series. The books were (and I sure still are) being published by Simon and Schuster, and the rights were held by the Wilder Estate. One way to check out a copy right, is to go to your local library, and look. With our Gothic theme in mind, find "The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow". Open the cover of it. Is there a copy right date on the title page? No? Then you can use it. Yes? Then check another copy, by a different publisher. It may be that the pictures are copy righted, but not the story. (Hint: If there is more than one publisher, it is probably public domain, since the second publisher would have to pay royalties to the first. An author rarely can cut two book deals with competitors.) |
Original Book
Are you quoting the original book, or a movie based on the book? The Wizard of Oz may be public domain, but the ruby slippers were invented for the movie. The original book had silver shoes. Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein can be quoted from the book, but movie quotes are often different from the original. Check Your Source! |
Retold Stories
Do you like "The Strange Case Of Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde", by Robert Louis Stevenson? Is it way too long for you to use? Retold, condensed, and abridged versions may well be covered under the author's and/or the publisher's copy rights. You, too, can tell the basic story in your own words. Then you would hold the copy right on this version. Be sure that you put a date on the page. |
A little known method of copy righting a piece of work is the common law copy right. Take a copy of your work. Mail that copy to yourself. Do Not Open That Envelope When You Receive It! This will show, in a court of law, that you have a date for your material, recognized by the federal government. I mailed a copy of work from the post office to my home. When I mentioned that I wanted a common law copy right on material that I had placed on a disk, the postal worker said, "So, you need to prove the date?" (He had apparently heard of this type of artistic protection before.) He then sealed the disk envelope flap with brown paper packing tape, and stamped the date on it about five times. Any tampering with the envelope would be evident, and the date was clearly marked on both sides. Should I ever need to sue for copy right infringment, this envelope would prove the date of my work. It could be opened by my lawyer, before the judge, and displayed on a notebook computer. Web sites can be changed, papers retyped, but sealed envelopes, with dates stamped by the U. S. Post Office, are hard to argue against. A paper copy might be better, since you would not need any special equipment to show your copy to a judge. However, the amount of postage for this would be considerable more.) Any work, that is to be submitted for publication, (a poetry contest) needs to have this minimal protection. This should be considered a stop gap method, until a formal copyright can be obtained. |
