Can You Copyright a Title?

Today’s publishing legal post looks at a question I hear a lot: “Can I copyright my title?” (Short answer: no.) Copyright law doesn’t protect short phrases, slogans, names, or titles … even the unique or distinctive ones. Names, slogans and phrases are protected by trademark law – but titles don’t usually qualify for this protection (though series titles may). Copyright law doesn’t protect titles because a title is too short to be considered a “work of authorship.” Works protected by copyright require a certain amount of original authorship, which generally means more than just a few words. In some cases, titles may be protected under laws

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Negotiating Preparation and Delivery of a Manuscript

Today’s post takes a look at negotiating the contract provisions dealing with final preparation and delivery of a manuscript. The “preparation & delivery” paragraphs usually contain the dates when the publisher expects the author to deliver the final Work, as well as the form and format the Publisher requires. Some contracts also include additional delivery requirements, such as indexes, glossaries, and internal artwork or graphics. Many authors don’t consider delivery terms when negotiating a contract, even though these terms will create significant obligations for the author once the deal is signed. Read the delivery paragraphs carefully. Understand (and be sure you can comply with) the following obligations: 1.

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On Opinions, and Why They Matter

I’ll start by acknowledging the obvious: I write books. I read books. I love books, and I love the fact that many different books exist – even if I don’t enjoy them all. The Internet has created an unprecedented opportunity for authors to reach an audience, and equal opportunities for readers to express their opinions (good, and bad, and everything in between) about the books they read. On balance, and in the real world, these are both good things. I don’t enjoy every book I read. Similarly, it’s unreasonable for me (or any other author) to expect that everyone will like the books I write. Some

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Deriving “Inspiration” From Other Works

Today’s post addresses a two-part question: “What’s the legality of using other works as “inspiration” for new works? When do you need a license?”  The short answer is that it depends on the copyright status of the work the author wants to use for inspiration. This week, we’ll look at the author’s obligations when the work is in the public domain. Next week, we’ll look at licensing for works still under copyright protection. Authors wishing to base a new creative work on a pre-existing work must determine whether the pre-existing work has entered the public domain. Generally speaking, copyright includes the

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Swimming North

A guest post by Kerry Schafer   Once there was a penguin, Vivian by name, whose brief expedition into the limelight literally changed my life. Let me explain. Vivian was one of a group of young male Adelies who got caught up in an oil slick. Some of you are going to want to know the where of this, I’ve just realized. I don’t know. They were penguins, there was a coast and ocean involved. (Ask anybody who knows me about my damaged sense of direction.) Once the penguins were cleaned up and restored to health, each was given a

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“Negotiating” Use of a Pseudonym

Today’s post takes a look at the issue of pseudonyms, and how to address them in a contract. IT’S LEGAL TO USE A PSEUDONYM, BUT NOT TO ENGAGE IN FRAUD. Authors often use pseudonyms (aka “pen names”) when they can’t or don’t want to use their legal names in connection with their writing. Use of a pseudonym is legal as long as the author doesn’t use it for fraud or tax evasion, or other illegal purposes. When choosing a pseudonym, don’t pick a name that lends itself to fraud or mistaken identity. It’s fine to write as “Stephen King” if

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If You Want to Succeed, the Rules Apply to You

In publishing, as in life, there’s a tendency for people to think “the rules” exist for other people. “Rules are made to be broken,” right? Wrong. If you want to succeed, the rules apply to you. “Rules,” in the publishing context, refers to everything from “following the submission guidelines” to “figuring out what genre your book belongs to,” and most of them exist for a reason. With agents, the rules exist so the agent has a way to evaluate the thousands (often, tens of thousands) of queries the agent receives in a year. With contests and contracts, the rules exist to ensure the activities

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Negotiating Territorial and Translation Rights

Last week, we started our look at contract negotiation with a review of “primary rights,” meaning print, ebook and serial rights. This week, we look at the other primary rights: territorial rights and translation rights. (Note: some people consider territory and translation secondary rights, and that’s fine too.) Negotiating Territorial Rights In publishing contracts, “territorial rights” refers to the right (usually, but not always, exclusive) to publish a work within a given territory. Territorial rights vary widely within contracts, and publishers willingness to negotiate them varies also. The most common territorial rights request is “all territories throughout the world” (the old language

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Engineering on the Reef

Busy this week, but I thought I’d share a little about the newest inhabitant of the reef: engineer goby. Engineer gobies (sometimes also called “convict blennies”) are actually neither a goby nor a blenny. They’re eel-like fish of a “gobioid” nature, which means they look like gobies and act like gobies, but aren’t true gobies at all. In the aquarium or reef environment, engineer gobies are social, peaceful, and generally able to get along with most other species of fish and invertebrates. They do occasionally snack on “bite-sized” specimens, but mostly that applies to tiny invertebrates like gammarus and not to the

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Negotiating a Grant of Rights

Negotiating the “Grant of Rights” in a publishing contract can be difficult (and exasperating) for authors who don’t understand exactly what this section of the contract means. The grant of rights often encompasses more than a single paragraph in a publishing contract and we’ll be taking more than a single week to discuss it in this blog series. In general terms, the “grant of rights” designates exactly which rights the author is licensing (or “granting”) to the publisher in the contract. Contract language varies widely from publisher to publisher, and even from deal to deal, but over the next few weeks, my Wednesday posts will look at

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