Copyright Protection for Beginners

If you're a writer who takes pride in your written work and the time and effort you put into creating it, you probably have concerns about protecting your creation from being copied without your permission. You may also have questions about the legal limits to how much of someone else’s work you can include in your essays, papers, articles and blog posts.

What does copyright mean?

Copyright literally means the "right to copy." A copyright holder has the sole and exclusive right to publish, reproduce or perform his or her work. Copyright protection not only protects an author's right to copy his or her work, but it also preserves the author's moral rights to the work. (Moral rights are discussed later in this article.)

Copyright protection takes effect the minute an original work is created in some material form. Photographs, songs lyrics written down and recorded, books, films, magazine articles, personal essays, even private letters and journals, are all considered to be creations in fixed material form and therefore are protected by copyright.

Copyright protection is different than trademark or patent protection.

Do I have to register my material somewhere in order for my work to be protected by copyright law?

No. If the work was created in Canada, the US or in another country that has signed the Berne Convention, you have automatic copyright protection for your work in those member countries. The US has signed the Berne Convention and thus, registering your manuscript would not be required for protection. You may still choose to register your copyright if that gives you some peace of mind, but it is not required. Links to the copyright offices in Canada and the United States are listed at the bottom of this article.

How long does my copyright protection for my work last?

In Canada, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years after his/her death. This protection applies to both published and unpublished works.

In the US, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years after his/her death. This means that in some cases it could be well over a hundred years before a published work becomes part of the public domain, where it can be copied or performed without permission from the author.

What is the difference between selling a copyright and licensing a work?

By assigning copyright to a publisher such as a magazine, you, the author, are essentially selling your copyright and giving the publishing company the right to do whatever it chooses with your work, including selling it, reprinting it, or perhaps never publishing the work again. All artists assigning copyright to their work should carefully consider the work’s future worth and whether the price of selling the copyright is fair.

If the work was created as part of a work contract or “for hire” arrangement, your employer/contractee owns the copyright, unless other arrangements were specifically agreed upon in writing.

The alternative to assigning copyright is to license the work to a publisher who would pay a fee to publish the work under very specific terms and conditions. The terms and conditions outlined in the license would determine how, when and where a publisher can print the work. In the meantime, you would still own the copyright and depending on the terms you agreed upon when you licensed the work, you would still be able to publish the work elsewhere.

What is the difference between possessing someone's work and owning the copyright to that work?

Example: My friend passed away and gave me a box of all of her beautiful unpublished stories, poems and essays. Because I own them – I have them in my possession – do I own the copyright now? Can I publish them?

No, not yet. Once the letters pass into the public domain (50 years after the author’s death in Canada, 70 years in the US), then the letters may be published. Just because you own the letters, you do not own the copyright unless your friend specifically assigned the copyright to you in her will or sold it to you prior to her death.

Moral rights were mentioned earlier. What are moral rights?

Moral rights offer writers and artists a distinct set of rights above and beyond copyright ownership. A copyright can be assigned or sold to another party, but the artist still has a right to protect the overall integrity and intent of their work. Moral rights are about preserving the creative intent, purpose and context of an artist’s work. Moral rights include:

Paternity – The right to use whatever name you choose as an author. If you choose to publish a work using as pseudonym, you still hold the copyright on the work you created. For example, if you use the pen name “Jane Doughnut” on your document, you don’t have to be legally named Jane Doughnut to be protected by copyright law.

Integrity – The right to (reasonably) determine the overall format, presentation and placement of your work. Your work can't be altered in any way that would affect the overall intent and meaning of your work. You have a right to refuse major edits, cuts or revisions of your work that would affect the spirit of your message.

Association – You have the right to determine who can use your material. For example, you may object to people (ie; politicians, convicted criminals, ethically challenged businesses) using your material, even if the copyright has been sold.

Is there anything else I can do to protect my work? How do I prove that I was the one who created it?

It may sound old-fashioned, but you can prove you are the author of a work and the date on which you created it by sending a signed copy of the work to yourself by registered mail. When you receive the envelope in the mail, do not open it. Put it in a safe place with the registered mail slip. If you are ever sued, or need to sue someone else, for copyright infringement, the unopened mail will become legal evidence.