"m23to53"
library.john@virgin.net wrote:
<< Apologies for what is probably not a group related
topic, though it is technically related I suppose.The Library
of Congress copyright records. I assume that some of you, as
authors or publishers, have had to send in information for
your work to be listed. My question is, does a book have to
be published, or be in the process of being published, for a
copyright entry to be made? Just that I was doing some
checking in the records, and came across various author and
title entries for works which do not seem to exist outside a
copyright entry.So, allowing for pseudonyms, pre-publication
titles etc, can there be a copyright entry for a work which
is never actually published? I would appreciate the views of
anyone who has been involved with the LOC copyright.
>>
I asked Brian Taves, who works at the Library of Congress,
and he responded:
<< Probably the best thing to do is go to
www.loc.gov/copyright. But in short, yes, something can be
copyrighted and not published, or published and not
copyrighted. Or copyrighted and transferred ... and sometimes
lapsed. (See my page of notes on the Mundy stories included
in Winds From the East!) In turn LC keeps track of all that
happens to a given copyright and it can be traced when a
researcher needs the info.
But if your friend is writing something of consequence, from
a dissertation on up, or publishing a journal, even a
fanzine, it is probably best to copyright and thereby ensure
some legal protection--even if it means paying the fees
involved ($45 I believe now).
I hope that answers the question. All of this can be a real
headache with magazine stories from the pulps (owned by the
writer? the magazine? successor interests in either?)
>>
- Duane Spurlock www.pulprack.com
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