Customer Reviews

The Copyright Handbook: How To Protect & Use Written Works

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
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This is one of more than 30 Nolo books I have been using for the last 3 years in my small business. As usual, Nolo doesn't disappoint in this comprehensive book on copyright law and instructions on how to protect your written works.

The book comes with many tear out forms with the electronic versions of the forms on CD-ROM. Common and not so common topics are addressed. I was immediately interested in the Chapters on Copyright Basics, Copyright Notice, and Copyright Registration. These three chapters gave me the most vital information I needed to know about Copyrights. For example, I didn't know that works don't need to be registered to be protected by the Copyright Law but if registered with the Copyright office in a timely fashion, the owner gets some special benefits in the case of copyright infringement. I also understood the different treatment given to published and unpublished works.

The sections on copyrights in the online world was of even greater interest to me as I am in the process of creating some websites with online content. I had not known that I could register my online work (as long it met the same requirements for registering copyrights on normal works). The chapter on online works also has detailed information on how deep links are treated, etc.

The section on Fair Use was very helpful as it explained as clearly as possible the circumstances under which you CAN copy a copyrighted work as long as it met the Fair Use guidelines.

Even the less frequently researched topics like 'Transferring Copyright Ownership' and 'International Copyright Protection' are addressed in sufficient detail.

All in all, this is a very important book if you have any kind of work that you want to copyright or if you are considering the implications of copying somebody's work under the Fair Use guidelines. The book is by no means an easy read but Nolo does an excellent job of explaining this fairly complicated subject in plain English for the ordinary person (which seems to be the goal in all of their books). I went to the Nolo website for the latest information on the Copyright Law and wasn't disappointed there either. They have a terrific FAQ section that explains in great detail some of the latest information pertaining to the Copyright Law (especially as applicable in the online world).

I hope you are able to benefit to the same extent that I did, and good luck!

I have to grit my teeth in anger when I think of all the wasted hours I've spent reading web site and magazine articles written by people who had no idea what they were talking about in regard to the often confusing world of copyright law.

The simple purchase and reading of Fishman's book would have saved me all that time, trouble, and confusion. He does a great job of laying out everything I've ever wanted to know about copyright law, in understandable terms...and alleviates any doubt by presenting brilliantly clear "examples" of almost every point.

If you want to learn as much as possible about copyright, without having to spend years becoming a copyright attorney, this is the book for you.

After doing quite a bit of research on the internet on copyright law, I purchased several copyright related books. The best of the bunch, in my mind, is "The Copyright Handbook," by Stephen Fishman, written to address copyright as it applies to written works. Published in March, 2000, the 5th edition of this book is still up to date with the copyright law of the United States.
Fishman does a good job of simplifying complicated issues. This is consistent with the goal of the publisher, Nolo, in publishing "quality law books & software for non-lawyers" that are "easy to use."
Included in the book are segments on issues and topics such as what is covered by copyright, what works are protected, duration of copyright, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Sony Bono Copyright Extension Act, fair use, electronic publishing, and protecting works on the internet.
I keep my copy on a shelf just above my computer that I can readily reach when copyright questions arise.

Fishman has taken the very complicated world that is copywrite law and simplified it in this text. The book itself is easy to read, well organized, and gives practical, interesting, and topical examples to highlight the explanations of the caveats of the law. For each example Fishman has sighted one to two, sometimes more, cases for reference. The cases range from 1934 (was the oldest I saw) to 1996, but examples of real-life situations are given of events more recent than 1996. Overall, this will help anyone who needs to learn about copywriting (specifically) the written word understand that better. This book is great for authors of all kinds, lyricists, scientists, etc.. who want to know if their material is copywriteable or not. The best part is that not everyone will have to read every chapter to find out the information that applies to them. The discussions on public domain are wonderful, and some of the highlights of the book.

I hire work-for-hire writers to create story anthologies and have become increasingly frustrated by the tendency of many to liberally "borrow" the written words of others found via the Internet. This book's chapters on Copyright Infringement and Copyright in the Online World have been invaluable resources that I have used to educate both myself and my writers. The author has wonderful tools for assessing and evaluating similarities between two texts, a test for paraphrasing, sample legal cases and judgments, letters to send to copyright violaters, an examination of liability issues, and more.

I routinely purchase an updated copy of this handbook every few years. The blank forms in the Appendix and the accompanying CD are worth the price of the book alone. The author does a great job of covering copyright basics, copyright notice, and copyright registration. The book offers easy-to-understand explanations of some pretty complex legal issues. You should be able to find answers to your copyright FAQs here. Very thorough and a bargain, especially when you consider what a lawyer charges. I'm not advocating that you don't avail yourself of a lawyer when necessary, but it pays to do your homework and understand the issues, and with this book you can.

Attorney Stephen Fishman's THE COPYRIGHT HANDBOOK: WHAT EVERY WRITER NEEDS TO KNOW, here appearing in its 9th updated edition to reflect the latest law and copyright regulations. Internet works are covered here, as blogs: a cd-rom provides over thirty updated legal and copyright forms, while chapters handle how to avoid infringement, handle infringers, and get permission to use copyrighted work.

A great resource about US copyrights is the NOLO Press Book, The Copyright Handbook What Every Writer Needs to Know. It will show you how to register a copyright for your book and the book also goes over the "fair use" doctrine, which is a sticky part of the law that I am not qualified to discuss-- BUT NOLO is!

Let's go over United States copyrights and trademarks briefly. Copyright protects original works of authorship, while a patent protects inventions or new discoveries. A trademark protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs identifying the source of the goods or services.

You can copyright a book or an essay.

You can trademark a book series or a logo.

You can patent a new type of book binding or an invention described in your book.

See the difference?

All My books are protected by copyright. My book series, the Passkey EA Review, is protected by a trademark. This means that, although another author may write a book about the enrolled agent exam, no one else may use the name; "Passkey EA Review." You can register a trademark yourself online for $275 at the US Trademark office website.

You are automatically granted copyright when you produce your book. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. The copyright protection is automatic. However, you may prefer to register your copyright with the US copyright office. Registration is voluntary. Authors may choose to register their works because they want their work to be registered in the public record and have a certificate of registration. You must register your work before you bring a lawsuit for copyright infringement.

An online registration of an original work of authorship costs $35 at the US copyright office website. Go to the US Copyright office to register your copyright.

You can do it all yourself with the help of Nolo press. Check out the US Copyright office's website (the information from this post is directly off the US Copyright and US Trademark websites).

There's no substitute for a good copyright attorney when you have a problem on your hands, but for the everyday business of securing and registering your work, you can't go wrong with this book. There's even a good chapter on the confusing field of cyberspace copyright, and international copyright treaties are given adequate due.

But the book either overreaches or doesn't do enough, depending on one's point of view. The title of this book explicitly states that the subject is written works. However, the discussion on "moral rights", although brief, seems very pointless because moral rights apply to artists, not writers. Similar irrelevancies pop up here and there. The upshot is that this book is for visual artists as well as writers, while giving short shrift to musicians, architects, and others who need a book such as this for copyright issues as well.

The solution, of course, is either to make this book just for writers and eliminate the extraneous stuff, or to make the book more inclusive and provide tips for all types of copyrighted material. Making the book more inclusive wouldn't even require that much more work.

So, writers and artists, get this book as soon as possible. Everyone else can benefit from its tips as well, but should at least check out the Library of Congress's website for further details that the book misses.

The Copyright Handbook: What Every Writer Needs to Know by Stephen Fishman (11th Ed.) published by NOLO is particularly geared towards writers, as the title suggests. I found the book helpful both as an attorney who does not have much experience in the area of intellectual property law and as a writer who wants to know how to best protect ownership of the works that I create.

I have over half a dozen NOLO books and have found them to be reliable, informative and practical. I'd consider them my go-to books when I want to understand a specific area of law. The explanations are clear and geared towards the layman but without being simplistic. The NOLO guides serve as a way to prep before going to a professional. This Copyright Handbook gives you an overview and practical advice in a clear and comprehensive way.

Among the topics that the Copyright Handbook addresses are:

-what intellectual property is subject to copyright protection, what different rights exist (reproduction right, distribution right, right to create adaptations, and performance and display rights), and who holds the specific rights
-where to place the copyright notice and what text to use
-how to register published books, magazine articles, newspapers, online media and unpublished material
-how to treat works that are created in the course of employment (works made for hire), by people working together (jointly authored works), derivative works, collective works, and works created by one person
-what works would be regarded as part of public domain, what cannot be subject to copyright protection, etc.
-the ways to register, the advantages of preregistration of unpublished works, and the forms for registration at the Copyright Office
-how to correct errors or change copyright notice and/or registration
-how to transfer ownership of copyright
-how to protect your rights against infringement, how to prevent a charge of infringement and the effect of a charge of infringement
-an overview of federal income tax for self-employed writers but this chapter is not sufficient to prepare taxes yourself
-when you need to obtain copyright permission and how best to approach a publisher

Among the forms included in the CD and the book are standard form of: (1) Work-Made-for-Hire Agreement, (2) Collaboration Agreement, (3) Copyright Assignment, (4) Notice of Claimed Infringement, (5) Counter-Notification, and (6) Text Permission Letter Agreement.

If you are a writer by profession or as a hobby, or if you work in publishing or want to learn more about publishing, I highly recommend The Copyright Handbook.

My bias is public domain material, so I hoped to learn more, and did. Anything published in the United States before 1923 is public domain, as is any material published 1923-1969 where the owner failed to renew copyright. The authors expand on this, so this is good material for me.

I didn't know that a dust jacket needs its own copyright notice. The authors go into great care for helping today's authors maximize their protections, and there are many things in this book I did not know. I figured that everything I wrote would be protected for the duration of my life + 75 years, but it's slightly more complicated than that. When people steal my material -- I run a popular website, so this happens all the time (robotic mirroring) -- there are various forms to file and steps I can take to give myself a better legal case.

The book comes with all of these forms on a CD. I have a choice of filling and filing some of these forms no at no cost, or paying $$$ later when I need them to support any case I want to make. I did not know that.

Very readable, and excellent advice far beyond what is available on the Wikipedia copyright page. Highly recommended.