Literary copyright information

Issued: 9th July 2004

Last amended: 9th July 2004

Discussing authors and writers copyright issues, general information, and copyright protection advice for literary works

1. Copyright notices

   It is strongly recommended that you properly mark your work, and using notices will make it clear that your copyright exists in your work. Please see fact sheet P-03: Using copyright notices for information on wording you notices.

2. Position of the notice

   For books and manuscripts, the copyright notice should appear at the beginning of the book, inside the front cover, on the first page, or on a page before any other content. For single page documents such as poems, the notice will typically appear at the foot of the page.

   With all literary works, the key point is that you notice should be apparent to the reader as soon as they start reading your work.

3. Using the work of others

   If you include quoted passages, illustrations, images or other items in your work which are not of your own creation. It is important to ensure that you have permission to use these before any publication or sale. If permission is given as a personal agreement, (rather than a formal contractual or licensing agreement), you should still ensure that you have some documentation, signed by the owner of the work to prove that permission has indeed been given.

4. Copyright registration
   1. When to register

      The basic rule we apply is that your work should be as complete as possible, but it should always be registered prior to submission to interested parties or any online publication.

      If you are making speculative submissions of your synopsis, or draft to publishers for review, or possible contract, you should certainly register prior to this, as you will not necessarily know how reputable the companies are, or how they will use your work.

   2. Registering your work

      Our online copyright registration allows you to upload your files directly and provides immediate protection.

      If your work consists of many files, then it is better to create a single compressed archive of the work, (or several manageable chunks if the work is considerably large, or you have a slow Internet connection), using a utility such as WinZip, WinRar/Rar, 7-Zip, StuffIt, or Tar. These can then be uploaded in the usual manner, and this method will reduce overall size and the amount of individual files you have to upload.

      For postal registration applications, you should include a full copy of your manuscript along with the application form and payment

      The preferred format for registration is electronic media such as compact disc or floppy disc. We also accept paper documents, but because of the extra workload this format generates, limits and conditions may apply. Please see our guidance notes for more details on postal applications.

   3. Dealing with updates

      The copyright registration update facility is used to register updates to your work. This enables you to include any new content in the registration, whilst still retaining the original registration date, and evidence of the original content of your work. Updates processed in this manner are linked with your existing registration, and protected from the date we process the application. This also provides additional evidence known as ‘evolution of ideas’ which demonstrates that your work has evolved and developed.

      Please note that updates can only used to add or update files in an item that has already been registered. Please use the standard registration facility for any new work.

      Registration updates are recommended where the content has significantly changed, or if there is new content, (i.e. as the work evolves from synopsis, through various drafts, and on to the finished manuscript).

      For more details on evolution of ideas, please see our page on supporting evidence.

5. Should I ever give up my copyright?

   Of course, if you have a publisher, it is normal to release certain rights in order for your publisher to fulfill his role, but we would never recommend that you give up your copyright claim on a work.

6. What are moral rights?

   Moral rights are concerned with the protection of the reputation of the author. There are two fundamental moral rights that belong to the author of a copyright work.

   • The right to claim authorship
   • The right to object to any treatment of the work which would be ‘prejudicial to personal honour or reputation’.

   Moral rights exist separately from economic rights and cannot be sold or given away, but some contract may ask for rights to be waived. This is not generally recommended, so ensure it is in your best interests before you enter into such a contract.

This fact sheet is Copyright © Copyright Witness and protected under UK and international law.
The use of this fact sheet is covered by the conditions of a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works License.

This fact sheet is intended only as an introduction to ideas and concepts only. It should not be treated as a definitive guide, nor should it be considered to cover every area of concern, or be regarded as legal advice.