by Kirby Anderson
How to Copyright your Book
Congratulations! Your book is already copyrighted. As soon as you finished your manuscript, even before it was published, you owned the copyright. There’s no charge.
You should let others know about your copyright by including it in your published book. Most people use this format: ©2012 Your Name (or Company). If you would prefer the long version, it would be: Copyright ©2012 Your Name. It should be printed on the edition notice (aka the copyright page) along with publication information and the ISBN. It’s not necessary to include your copyright on a manuscript, even if you’re submitting to publishing houses. They’re professionals; they know.
As a general rule, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. But there is something else you must do if your book is in print. (If your book is published in digital format only, skip the next section.)
Mandatory Deposit of Published Books
All print books in the U.S. that are sold for money must be submitted to the copyright office. That’s the law—two copies submitted. It’s known as a “mandatory deposit.” If you fail to submit your book, you could receive a warning. If you then fail to comply, you could be fined plus charged for the price of the book. The upside of submitting is that your book might be selected to be in the Library of Congress, and you can visit it if you’re ever in Washington, D.C.
Authors who publish only in digital format are off the hook for now. Mandatory deposit is not yet required for digital books.
My book is in print form. How do I comply with the mandatory deposit requirements?
If you’re working with a publisher or a company that has provided packaging services for you, check with them. They may have submitted the copies for you already. If not, you have two choices:
1) Mail two copies to:
Library of Congress Copyright Office
Attn: 407 Deposits
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20559-6600
or
2) Register your copyright.
Copyright Registration
Registering your copyright with the U.S Copyright Office is completely voluntary. However, to best protect their interests, many authors choose to register or “claim” their copyright. It establishes a public record of the copyright. If someone infringes upon your work and you want to file a lawsuit, you must have registered your copyright first.
That doesn’t mean you have no voice if you don’t register. You still own the copyright. Let’s say that someone copies your book, publishes it, distributes it and keeps the proceeds. Many authors have convinced reputable retailers to remove the offending book from their inventories by informing them of the copyright. And if you send a similar message to the rogue publisher, maybe they’ll stop distributing your work. But if they don’t, and you choose to sue, you must have registered your copyright first.
Registration may be made at any time within the life of the copyright, however registration within five years of publication will establish the validity of the copyright should you want to sue to recoup profits taken. Registration made within three months after publication allows you to sue for statutory damages and attorney’s fees as well as profits. And that’s important. Attorney’s fees, alone, could put you in debt even if you win your case. (Different rules apply to works copyrighted before 1978.)
Print Authors: The process of registering your copyright includes a submission of your printed work. This fulfills your mandatory deposit requirements mentioned in the previous sections. Read more HERE.
How To Register your Copyright
Once again, if you’re working with a publisher or a company that provided packaging services, check with them. They may have already registered your copyright. Otherwise, start at http://www.copyright.gov/, the U.S. Copyright Office.
You may register your copyright one of three ways:
Mailing a paper form:
http://www.copyright.gov/eco/ (Scroll down to Alternate Methods 2)
Print out the form, write in the answers, mail it with two copies of your print book. $65 application fee, check or money order
Mailing a computer generated form:
http://www.copyright.gov/eco/ (Scroll down to Alternate Methods 1)
Fill out the form on screen, print it out, mail it in with two copies of your print book. $50 application fee, check or money order
E-filing:
http://www.copyright.gov/eco/
File online and follow the instructions to mail in two copies of your print book. $35 application fee, credit or debit. Those who publish their works in ebook format ONLY, use this method and submit the book electronically—no mailing necessary. (There’s a list of what file types are accepted electronically, and there’s a tutorial.)
The Copyright Office recommends that you e-file to save time. Although your work is recognized as registered as soon as it’s received and the fee has been paid, it can take up to 3 months to complete the registration process – 10 months for a paper application. Those e-filing will have access to online status tracking. All fees are nonrefundable.
Want to explore the eCO process and see the questions you’ll have to answer? Here’s a PDF tutorial: http://www.copyright.gov/eco/eco-tutorial.pdf
For More Information
See the Copyright Office FAQs and the Electronic Copyright Office FAQs for tips.
For general information about copyright, call the Copyright Public Information Office at (202) 707-3000 or 1-877-476- 0778 (toll free). Staff members are on duty from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, EST, except federal holidays. Recorded information is available 24 hours a day.
Novelists Inc. has a page of copyright information links including a sample “cease and desist” letter for book pirates.
On the Self-Published Authors Lounge blog, Ruth Ann Nordin offers a sample take down notice per the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA). More on the DMCA and it’s protection of digital book rights.
Your Privacy
The Copyright Office does not sell your information, but Copyright Office records are public information. So, by law, anyone may harvest your information for marketing purposes.