Regarding copyright, be careful when posting on forums. While here we have an understanding all work belongs to the respective author/s, some websites claim copyright over all content posted on their forums. This is very legal, and not necessarily requiring prior notification. Be careful out there.
That's there for convenience, not security. I can think of at least 3 ways right off the top of my head to spoof or change that date to make it look like you created something earlier than you did.
This. And also, the "poor man's copyright" of mailing it to yourself, sealed, recorded delivery doesn't work either. Wouldn't be admissible in court.
They can claim whatever they like. It doesn't make it true. Copyright vests in the actual author by operation of law as soon as a work is set down in a tangible medium of expression (like on a web site). 17 USC 204 tells you what is necessary to transfer the copyright from the author: " § 204. Execution of transfers of copyright ownership (a) A transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of law, is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or memorandum of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or such owner's duly authorized agent."
What difference does it make to have your book or movie script registered to the Writer's Guide of America and the U.S House of Congress? Anyone know? I know that if you register your work to the U.S House of Congress, it lasts 70 years after your death, but with the WGA, it only lasts for like 5 to 10 years, or something like that. Is there any other differences?
it's the 'us library of congress' that registers copyrights... the 'house of representatives' [along with the 'senate'] is a bi-cameral law-making body, collectively called the 'us congress'... as for registering books with wga, i don't know of any pros who do that... but they also don't register their book copyrights with loc, either, since their publishers will do it before the book is released... to do it before you even sell the ms dates the work and isn't at all necessary, since your work is covered by copyright from the moment you finish it... seasoned writers generally register only their screenplays, tv work, stage play scripts and song lyrics with wga, though wga east and west do take any written work... if you have any other questions, a visit to the sites will answer them: www.copyright.gov www.wgae.org www.wga.org
Registering your copyright means you can claim statutory damages for copyright infringement in a court - you don't need to prove you've suffered actual damages. I don't think it affects the length of copyright any longer.
you only have to have registered it a certain length of time before filing the suit... doesn't have to have been registered from the time you completed it...
True. To elaborate, you do have to register before filing the suit, but the weight of evidence accorded the registration and the ability to obtain statutory damages can hinge on how long after publication you actually register it: Looking at the bold text, with a few exceptions, if you wait to register your work when you learn of an infringing act, you can't get statutory damages or attorney's fees unless that registration happens to fall within three months after first publication of the work. So it is actually a certain amount of time after publication that you need to get it registered for these purposes, not a period of time measured in relation to the start of the suit. Not noted in this statute, but also true, is that if you register within five years of publication the registration itself is prima facie evidence in a court of law. So there are good reasons not to wait until you see an infringer to register the work.
if you don't make your book ms available to anyone but legit agents and publishers, there's no good reason for registering it yourself...
This is still information a writer should know. And more and more people are going self-publishing routes these days, particularly with electronic versions, so it is a good idea to keep these facts in mind when it comes to copyright.
