Copyrighting
In June 25, 2001 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that media
companies must obtain freelance writers' permission to republish their articles in
electronic format. The ruling arose from the lawsuit of Jonathan Tasini, president of the
National Writers Union, against the New York Times. Mr. Tasini argued that online versions
of freelance articles are in fact new editions. Therefore, they require their authors'
approval. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the New York Times' position that online
versions were simply "revisions," which are not subject to the authors'
approval.
Here are some guidelines for copyrighting your publications on-line.
- Copyright legally exists in a writer's work.
- A writer's text can be marked with a copyright notice, "c" in a
circle, followed by the year and name.
- Place the copyright notice conspicuously at the beginning of your text.
- Writing can be registered with the U.S. copyright office.
- Register it after its printing as a "published" work.
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- Registration provides remedies under federal law in event of infringements.
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- Copyright forms can be obtained from the Copyright Office's Web site at
http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/. (Or
copyright forms can be obtained free of charge from the United States Copyright Office, by
writing to the Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, Washington D. C. 20559 or by
calling (202) 707-9100. To obtain a copyright, the writer must return the completed form
and writing with a fee to the Register of Copyrights. Instructions accompany the forms and
more details are available in a brochure entitled "Copyright Basics," which is
free upon request of the Copyright Office.)
- A copy of the work can also be sent to the Library of Congress.
- Contracts with publishers should provide for the author's licensing rights and
royalties. Authors should retain their copyrights at all times.
- Employ an intellectual properties lawyer familiar with publishing to negotiate
contracts and to protect copyrights for future negotiations, printings, and uses of
materials.
- A new ERIC Digest from the ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education (ERIC-HE)
addresses some complex copyright questions related to distance education. "Copyright
Concerns in the Age of Distance Education," by law librarian James H. Walther.
- Copyright
laws
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Computer-Mediated
Publishing
Here are some basic tips for using computer-mediated
technologies to send manuscripts to appropriate publishing sources and/or to publish on
the Internet. |
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- Writers can use the Internet to investigate appropriate publishing companies and
sources.
- To study publishing sources author, proposal guidelines, writers can go to the
publishing sources' Web sites.
http://www.lulu.com/
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