Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Oklahoma

Re: Copyright? Do I need one before?

As an intellectual property lawyer who deals with publishers, I can confirm that my colleague Mr. Epp gave you the right advice and my colleague Mr. Hayes gave advice you should not follow. Mailing yourself a copy in a sealed envelope is ineffective and even counterproductive. Publishers prefer to deal with authors who know what they are doing legally. They will want you to have a copyright registration and to be represented by competent legal counsel so they minimize their risk of any successful legal dispute against them later challenging the agreed terms or challenging your ownership of the material.

Copyright registration is inexpensive. Get a copyright lawyer and do this right. Call me at 314-621-5070 or email at [email protected] and I can either do it for you or give you a referral to another competent copyright lawyer.

Bruce Burdick, JD

St. Louis, MO

Re: Copyright? Do I need one before?

I would defer to my colleagues on this list who work more directly with the publishing business. However, it is my opinion that it would be prudent to obtain a copyright registration for your novel prior to shopping it around. You would submit Form TX, one copy of the work if it is unpublished (two if it is published) and your $30 application fee. Probably the biggest advantage to you if your obtain a registration is if you shop the novel around and someone decides to rip it off, you can obtain statutory damages. You can obtain copyright forms and circulars at http://www.loc.gov. Good luck!

Re: Copyright? Do I need one before?

Mr. Epp is right on track. I always suggest the poor mans copyright which is to seal and mail yourself a copy of your novel and then not open it. The parcel will be stamped with a date by the post office confirming that it was mailed back to you before it was submitted. This costs next to nothing and provides security. You may also want to mail one to an attorney for safe keeping that way two people have a dated sealed copy. However, I do not know if the court would grant you punitive damages if they stole your novel and your only proof was the stamped package. Good luck.

John Hayes