I know this place is mostly for bloggers, but its hard to find people who know squat about plagerism and copyright laws so I felt it'd be a really good place to ask for copyright help.
If I self publish a graphic novel, and I for whatever reason didn't want to register the book at the copyright office and pay a fee for the protection, how protected is my book if I use a pen name?
CopyRight law, from what I understand, protects an individuals work the moment it's in a 'tangible form'. Technically you dont need to have the work registered with them for it to be protected. Or am I wrong?
If A Pen name is on the book, and there's no file at the copyright office for who REALLY made the book, can I still protect it as rightfully mine?
Thanks for your help!
Actually it is a great question...
Actually, this is a great question. Even if we assume this place is solely for bloggers, which I don't think that it is or should be, a lot of bloggers post their works under pen names so this would affect them as well.
On that note, I have good news and bad news, though I don't think the bad news is really that bad.
Pseudonymous work, which is the legal definition for work done under a pen name, enjoys the exact same copyright protections as does any other work. You have the exact same rights in your pseudonymous work as you do a work that carries your full legal name.
That being said, there is one difference, but how important it is depends on your perspective. Where a work with a known author has copyright protection until the author's death plus 70 years, a pseudonymous work has protection until either 95 years after publication or 120 years after creation, whichever expires first.
Though the copyright term is still extremely long, it is definitely shorter than what you would likely get if you had put your name on the work. However, you can mitigate this by unveiling yourself as the author later, if the author becomes known at any point, term shoots back up to the usual life plus seventy.
Regarding registering your work with the copyright office. You can actually register a pseudonymous if you wish, there's a place on the form, however, you are right that your work is protected, registered or not.
However, if you don't register your work you have to major limitations. First, you can't sue for copyright infringement until you and and, second, when you do sue you can not claim statutory damages for anything that happened before you registered.
This means that it is financially infeasible to sue anyone for an unregistered work because you would have to first register the work and then you would only be able to obtain actual damages, which is the greater of what they gained or you lost.
If you are planning on publishing this book, it is well worth your time to register it.
I think that covers everything, let me know if you have any further questions and thank you for the great query!
Jonathan Bailey - plagiarismtoday.com
Now thats the good answer
Now thats the good answer I've been looking for! Thankyou very much!
Now another question I have is kind of related, but I need to know it.
If the work doesnt have a registration with the copyright office, you really cant do anything to sue a theif? How could I protect my works if I didnt register it (not that I wont, it definately sounds worth a few extra bucks, but I need to know -all- my options). What could I really do if a thief stole and made money off an unregistrated work?
~Myth
Jonathan is an expert in
Jonathan is an expert in this area, but don't forget that the duration is country-based. Also, back when I was publishing a monthly print mag, I'd researched a great deal about copyright and found that using a pen name could mean having to legally change your name, to enforce copyright. (Though I don't remember where I read that.)
Regarding Non-Registration
I'm sorry for the delay, I've been away most of the weekend and this is my first real chance to reply.
If you don't register your work, you still have a lot of options at your disposal. First, if the abuse takes place on the Web, you can still file DMCA notices. You can also use cease and desist letters and other tactics that fall short of actually filing a lawsuit.
However, before you file any lawsuit, you would have to register and you most likely would not be eligible for statutory damages for any infringement that took place before the registration.
If you need help on sending DMCA notices and/or cease and desist letters, that information is on my site.
To answer Raj real fast. Yes, you are correct that duration varies on country, good point. I assumed since Myth was asking about the Copyright Office it was a U.S. work but you are right to point that out. In other countries your rights will vary and that is true regardless of what name you use. Best to look up any nations you are interested in.
I can't say I've heard of anyone having to change their name to enforce copyright after using a pen name. I can see a situation where one files an updated or new copyright registration, something that would be both faster and cheaper than changing your name, but never latter course.
That would be something to discuss with an attorney but I am not familiar with that issue, the law is pretty clear on the rights of anonymous and pseudonymous authors.
Still, I can always be wrong...
Jonathan Bailey - plagiarismtoday.com
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