Copyright for Self-Publishers

Given for the Madison Public Library self-publishing workshop, 27 September 2015.

Transcript

1. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA Copyright for self-publishers Dorothea Salo the iSchool at UW-Madison
2. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA I am not a lawyer.
3. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA I cannot give legal advice.
4. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA Please do not ask me about your specific situation.
5. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA It is ILLEGAL for me to answer.
6. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA HIRE A LAWYER for legal advice specific to your situation.
7. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA I can tell you some things about the law, though.
8. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA U.S. Copyright… • Applies to “original works of authorship fixed in a tangible form of expression.” • Yes, digital materials like websites, ebooks, and digital photographs absolutely do count as “tangible!” • For individually-authored works, lasts for the author’s lifetime plus 70 years.
9. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA Applies upon fixation • As soon as your work is fixed somewhere outside your head, it’s copyrighted. • However! • In an infringement lawsuit, plaintiffs can only receive statutory damages (that is, the big bucks) if they have registered their copyright!
10. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA register online eco.copyright.gov
11. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA Copyright and cover art • “I found this great image online! So I can totally use it on my cover, right?” • WRONG. (Probably.) • Copyright is automatic. Including for images. Including ONLINE images. • Assume it’s copyrighted and you need the artist’s or photographer’s permission, unless…
12. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA Unless… • Work by the U.S. Federal Government • Old enough to be public domain • Licensed for reuse • In which case the license terms must be obeyed, or the license is lost and the owner’s copyright may have been infringed.
13. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA Take copyright seriously. Hire a lawyer if you have questions.
14. Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY Background: Ilena Gecan, “Bubbles,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/hach3/2458624643/ CC-BY-SA Thank you! This presentation is available under a creative commons attribution 4.0 international license.