Featured Resource: Contracts Companion for Writers

January 3rd, 2012

Contracts Companion for Writers

By literary lawyer and professor of law, Tonya M. Evans, with foreword by Dan Poynter.

By thoroughly examining more than a dozen publishing industry contracts, this how-to guide answers the most common questions writers ask about publishing, agency, coauthoring, working-for-hire, and other agreements. This reference breaks down the complex legalese in each contract and provides a clause-by-clause explanation of their contents. Commentary on negotiation points and the consequences related to the absence or presence of critical verbiage will help those—from the most seasoned author signing with a major publishing firm to an author who aspires to publish or is thinking of working with a collaborator on a project—who seek to demystify the process of signing important agreements operate from a more knowledgeable position.

 Invest in this resource today!

Only $22.95
+ S/H

Posted in copyright | Comments Off

The “How-To” and “Why?” of Filing a Trademark Made Easy(ier)

December 28th, 2011

December 28, 2011

Lightbulb key on keyboard

I do not recommend that lay persons attempt to register their own trademark without consulting an intellectual property attorney. But I love that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the “USPTO” or “PTO”) has made its Web site more lay person-friendly and easily navigable so that the average person can better understand the process, timing and requirements of trademark filings.

The PTO consists of two separate agencies, the Patent Office that handles inventions and the Trademark Office that handles the registration of words, phrases and designs that function to identify a specific manufacturer/provider of a particular good or service. The Copyright Office, which registers and maintains copyrights of original literary and artistic works (books, music, artwork, for example), is administered separately, FYI.

As you may know, Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Copyright Office, intellectual property, registration, trademark | Comments Off

What you own when you own a copyright

September 4th, 2011

What a Copyright Owner Has the Right to Do

© 2011 Tonya M. Evans [reprinted in part from Copyright Companion for Writers]

In general, the Copyright Act gives a copyright owner the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do (or preclude others from doing) the following:

  • Reproduce the work (make copies)
  • Prepare derivative works based on the original (create a motion picture based on a novel or a novel based on a motion picture)
  • Distribute copies of the work to the public (publish) by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
  • Perform the work publicly (a public reading)
  • Display the work publicly (hang a painting in an art gallery)
  • Perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission (DAT), in the case of sound recordings

Collectively, these rights are often referred to as an author’s exclusive bundle of rights. Let’s look at some of these rights in closer detail. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in copyright | Comments Off

Can you copyright an idea?

July 21st, 2011

You can’t copyright an idea … but that doesn’t mean you can’t protect it. Read on …

[excerpt from Copyright Companion for Writers by Tonya M. Evans]

Lightbulb key on keyboard

Ideas and copyright

The Copyright expressly excludes ideas from its protection. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “idea” as “something, such as a thought or conception that potentially or actually exists in the mind as a product of mental activity.” Therefore, the idea of writing a book about, for instance, a falsely accused prisoner who escapes from jail to prove his innocence and find the real killer cannot be protected under the Copyright Act.

But the act does protect a written manuscript based on that idea. This conclusion makes sense in light of the way copyright is created. Copyright protection exists the moment an original and creative artistic or literary expression is fixed in a tangible form. Until an idea is fixed in a writing or recording, it is just that – an idea. Once fixed in a tangible form, the expression (assuming, of course, that it is also original and has some modicum of creativity) is protected by copyright.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in copyright, ideas, law, literary | Comments Off

Can you REALLY copy an ENTIRE news article online and claim fair use?

July 13th, 2011

[Originally published at www.proftonyaevans.com]

Yes. Really. Well, sometimes. Maybe. (How’s that for an answer?) The answer is sometimes yes, at least according to a recent decision in a copyright infringement case between purported copyright “troll” Righthaven and its latest defendant, Wayne Hoehn.

Hoehn is a Vietnam veteran who posted all 19 paragraphs of November editorial from the Las Vegas Review-Journal, owned by Stephens Media. Righthaven is a Las Vegas-based company co-owned by its CEO and founder Steve Gibson and Stevens Media, owner of approximately 70 media outlets, including the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in copyright, fair use, freelance rights, infringement, intellectual property, law, literary | Comments Off

« Older Entries