Evanston Publishing Blog

Last week we looked at why you should Copyright your book.  This week we will discuss how.

Books should display copyright information on the reverse of the title page. This information must include the symbol © and/or the word Copyright, the year of first publication and the name of the copyright owner. This information should be “…placed on all publicly distributed copies from which the work can be visually perceived.” It might also contain other warnings about copyright infringement.

It is always to your benefit to put the copyright in your own name rather in the name of your publisher or another person, since the person who owns the copyright is the only one who can reproduce the work, prepare derivative works based on the work, and distribute copies of the work.

A copyright is essential to keep others from using any portion of a work without the copyright holder’s permission. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works For works that were created on or after January 1, 1978, U.S. copyright law has established a “life plus fifty” system. This means that a work is automatically protected from the moment of its creation “in tangible form” to 50 years after the author’s death. In 1989, the copyright law was amended to conform to international law so that material published in the USA after March 1, 1989, automatically carries copyright protection and is protected against foreign piracy.

In the last few years, copyright rules have changed: even though registration is voluntary, a work now must be registered with the Registrar of Copyrights, or the copyright holder cannot bring a lawsuit for infringement of the work.

Watch for part II of this article coming on Monday.