Copyright Information for Authors

If you're looking for Copyright information for authors, important details are available in books and over the Internet. Below are some resources that you will find useful for learning all about copyright law, how to protect your work and how to make sure you don’t open yourself up for infringing on someone else's rights.

How do copyright laws affect you?

The Internet is a wealth of information when it comes to finding out about copyright information for authors. As always, the advice on the Internet does not replace the advice of a licensed attorney. If you have specific legal questions or if you have a problem that requires legal action, the only way to make sure you're getting the correct information is by meeting with a lawyer trained in the nuances of copyright law.

That said, you can still research a great deal of information on your own before you go running up thousands of dollars in legal fees. Here are some useful Internet resources to help with your research.

• Nolo Press offers a range of legal products for everyday people, including books that put legal jargon into language we can all understand. Nolo has a specific book on Patent, Copyright and Trademark Law, and also offers a directory of lawyers if you find that you are in need of legal counsel.
• Plagiarism Today has an entire section on stopping plagiarism and outlines several options you have to stop your work from being stolen before you have to contact an attorney.
• If you write fan fiction (or fanfic for short) you should be aware of both your legal rights and the rights of the author you are deriving your work from.
• If you are a science fiction or fantasy writer, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America has a handy reference that outlines how laws affects writers and other publishing folk.

Sometimes it's nice to have a book that you can reference instead of having to go to your computer for information. If you prefer to get your information from a book over searching the Internet, here are a few publications that would be handy legal references to your writing library.

• The Copyright Handbook: What Every Writer Needs to Know by Stephen Fishman J.D. is published by Nolo Press, a company that has developed a solid reputation for making legal information understandable by the everyday person. This book takes the mystery and confusion out of learning about copyright law by breaking the rules down into small, easy-to-digest bites.

Know your copyright law.

• Every Writer's Guide to Copyright and Publishing Law: Third Edition by Ellen M. Kozak J.D. is a short book (only 160 pages) that makes copyright law easy to understand. Its small size shouldn't deter you from picking it up; it's an easy-to-grasp reference that can answer your questions quickly and concisely. This book is a must-have for anyone in the book business, from writers to editors to agents.
• The Writer's Legal Companion: The Complete Handbook For The Working Writer, Third Edition by Brad Bunnin and Peter Beren is a great overall legal guide for writers that covers a rainbow of legal topics, including copyright law. Legal terms are laid out in plain English so that anyone can understand what you need to know to protect yourself and your work. Now in its third edition, The Writer's Legal Companion should be a mainstay in your library.
• Writer's Guide to Copyright and Law by Helen Shay is another small guide that will come in handy if you ever have questions about how copyright law affects your livelihood as a writer. Avoid legal pitfalls, protect your work and make sure you're walking the straight and narrow with this quick, useful read.

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