Share your poetry with peace of mind…the simple truth about copyright.
Posted on: July 2, 2011
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Share your poetry with piece of mind…the simple truth about copyright.
The information contained below is not legal advice. It is a short and practical interpretation of United States Code Title 17 copyright law and does not substitute in any way the professional services of an attorney.Years ago I learned that mailing a copy of my original work to myself was a ‘poor mans copyright’ because it activates copyright protection without having to pay registration to the US Copyright Office. I also learned that original work needs notation of the copyright sign and the author’s name so interested parties can see that the work is protected. That bit of copyright education carried me confidently into the world of online social centers, specialty networks, and the opportunity to put my works on display for the world to see.
Browsing various poetry networks, I noticed the posting of original poetic works was small compared to other specialty niches. And when my poetry blog showed up in the top 50 sad poems on Network Blogs I knew there were lots of poets not yet posting.
Suddenly I wanted to tells poets and other artists the simple and important truth about copyrights; how easy it is to protect your original work from unauthorized use, and to enjoy your exclusive rights as a unique creator.
So I researched the US Copyright Law, read the US Library of Congress and the US Copyright Office websites, visited legal information sites, and read articles on copyright. As I outlined my understanding of recent copyright law, something became very clear,
Five Fundamental Truths About Copyrights
But before you read any further, I want to offer you a direct link to the June 26, 2011 US Library of Congress copyright basics june2011 publication…if you would prefer to read it directly from the federal agency.
1) When you write a poem, you create a unique work of authorship, it is yours. YOU OWN IT.
2) Because you own it, you automatically hold exclusive rights to its reproduction, distribution, public performance, and, you have legal remedies should someone infringe upon those rights.
3) As a proud poet and copyright owner, you can claim your rights and put potential thief’s on notice. Effective notice looks like this: ©2011kerryldaley and includes three elements:
a. copyright symbol. [use the copyright sign (alt0169) or the word copyright]
b. date the work completed. [year]
c. name of the copyright holder. [full name; well-known nickname;initials]
4) Copyright infringement that continues despite notification of unauthorized use can end up in court. Recent legislation requires the subject work be certified by the US Copyright Office before taking legal action. US Copyright certification can occur anytime during the life of the copyright.
5) US Copyright Law grants authorship rights and copyright protection to the original author of unique works. Period. Your work is protected even if formal USLOC registration has not occured. But, if you decide to publish the work and sell copies, registration with the USLOC must occur within three months of the first publishing. This requirement helps build the USA record of works created and published within its borders.
For poets who are leery of sharing their copyrighted work (yes, it’s already copyrighted), I hope that you are enthusiastic and confident about your copyright and the protections granted you as the copyright holder. I want you to share your poetry with peace of mind because you know the simple truth about copyrights.
Legalzoom has a good article that explains the difference between copyright and copywrite, and a useful post called ‘Can you trademark “you’re fired!”, and other sayings?
Here are two sites that show how to make the copyright sign in different operating systems: eHow and http://www.copyrightauthority.com
Additionally, http://www.copyrightauthority.com provides a helpful flow chart of the copyright process.
Here is a non-profit site that competes with the US Library of Congress. http://www.myfreecopyright.comis a free digital copyright registration service that provides legitimate public record of ownership and maintains its own national database of copyrighted items. Works submitted to myfreecopyright.com are protected and have been effectively used in court.
Finally, since this post intends to bring poem sharing enthusiasm to poets everywhere, I am including an exciting list of online poetry communities.
Poetry Workshops
www.poetry-express.org
www.zpoems.net
Poetry Networks
http://poetry-network.com
http://writers-network.com
http://outlawpoetry.com
Poetry Forums
www.thepoetsanctuary.net
www.everypoet.org
www.wildpoetryforum.com
http://allpoetry.com
Poet Directories
www.poetswest.com ($10.00 membership fee)
http://www.poetrykit.org/
Related articles
- The 10 Rules Of US Copyright Infringement (jeremynicholl.com)
- CARTOON: The Uninvited (gunnyg.wordpress.com)
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