Before I begin explaining what copyright is and what types of work copyright protects, and the point of aunt Fanny, it is important to understand that you cannot officially register your copyright within the UK. This does not mean that you cannot copyright your work, it means that you do NOT have to take any action to protect your copyright. It also means that there is no agency, government department or private company that can register your copyright either. The simple fact is that copyright in the UK and Northern Ireland exists the moment a creative work is fixed in a tangible form, i.e., on paper, on film, on CD, etc., end of story.
The reason I have mentioned this first is because it has been drawn to my attention that a number of businesses have popped up in the UK who claim they CAN 'register' your copyright. They can't. What they ARE doing is holding copies of your work in a 'secure environment' (you could send a copy to your aunt Fanny and it would amount to the same thing), charging you a hefty fee, and sending you a 'copyright registration' certificate that isn't worth the paper it's written on. And talking of money, one is charging £40.00 to 'register' a single print copy of a manuscript, and to add insult to injury they want £10.00 to send it back to you! I won't go as far as to say it's a con, I don't want to be sued, instead I will leave you to make your own minds up, but as far as I can see aunt Fanny may not be such a bad option after all...
In actual fact, and on a more serious note, there are a number of safeguards you would be wise to undertake, which are very simple and effective, will provide you with all the protection you need, and won't set you back any more than the price it takes to post your manuscript to, you guessed it, aunt Fanny! Get my drift?
Go on then, so how do I protect myself?
I thought you were never going to ask!
Even though copyright is an automatic right, it is always wise to put a copyright statement on your work, which should include the copyright symbol ©, the date that the work was produced and your name, so that others can see your work is copyrighted or if you ever need to demonstrate to a court (God forbid) that your copyright has been infringed.
Here's the interesting bit, and the reason for all those references to aunt Fanny, as a further safeguard, you can put your manuscript into an envelope, seal it and send it to yourself or, in fact, aunt Fanny or anyone who will keep a copy for you, as proof that it existed at a certain time. (Don't open it when you get it, leave it sealed, that's the whole point!) You can also deposit a copy at the bank or with your solictor, but remember to get a dated receipt. Voila, now can spend your hard earned cash on submitting that manuscript to more agents or publishers, or alternatively on a well earned drink in celebration of the fact that you haven't just lined the pockets of people who ought to know better!
Good job you were cleverer than them... That's it! So simple, really, and yet so cheap.
So, what is copyright?
I know I have digressed and it may seem confusing to get to this bit last, but it is important to know that copyright is an unregistered right, that no one can register your copyright and that you can protect yourself quite adequately without having to pay a fortune to do it...
Copyright exists in all literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work as set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. But there is no copyright in titles or ideas. Furthermore, under the Berne Convention every creative work is copyrighted the moment it is fixed in a tangible form. The Berne Convention is an international copyright treaty signed by 96 countries. The United States and the United Kingdom are signatories.
The type of works that copyright protects are:
original literary works, e.g. novels, instruction manuals, computer programs, lyrics for songs, articles in newspapers, some types of databases, but not names or titles (see Trade Marks pages);
original dramatic works, including works of dance or mime;
original musical works;
original artistic works, e.g. paintings, engravings, photographs, sculptures, collages, works of architecture, technical drawings, diagrams, maps, logos;
published editions of works, i.e. the typographical arrangement of a publication;
sound recordings, which may be recordings on any medium, e.g. tape or compact disc, and may be recordings of other copyright works, e.g. musical or literary;
films, including videos; and
broadcasts and cable programmes.
If you have any concerns that your copyright is being infringed and you want to look into the matter in more detail, visit these sites:
Authors Licensing & Copyright Society
The Society of Authors
The Copyright Site
Publishers Association
10 Big Myths about Copyright Explained - Brad Templeton
U.S. Copyright Office
Karen Scott is author of 'The Internet Writer's Handbook 2001/2' published by Allison & Busby in March 2001.
Puff Adder Books
She is a member of The Society of Authors,
The Queen's English Society and EPIC
and runs the New Writers Consultancy a critique and editorial service for writers and Puff Adder Books an epublishing company.
Additional referrence www.whatiscopyright.org