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Copyright Registrations and Pen Names / Pseudonyms
Pen names, or pseudonyms, are common in the book publishing arena, as well as blogs and other online publications. But how does using a pseudonym or pen name affect your copyright registration? Let’s take a closer look at pseudonyms and copyright law.
Why would anyone want to use a pen name?
There are many reasons someone might use a pen name or pseudonym and wish to record this in their copyright registration:
Image courtesy of Ginny; some rights reserved.
Security
Authors publishing potentially controversial materials may wish to keep their identity a secret in order to protect their families, escape government persecution or retaliation, or hide their part-time-author status from their full-time employer.
Hiding gender
Much more prevalent in the closed-minded gender attitudes of the past, many women throughout history have adopted male pseudonyms in order to be taken seriously as authors in male-dominated fields (which of course for much of our history was pretty much all of them).
Whimsy
Sometimes an author publishes under a pseudonym simply because they like the sound of the name more than their own legal name! This is especially popular for children’s books; authors sometimes want to be known as a more fun-to-say name among this demographic.
Reputation
If an author is established in one certain genre, such as science fiction, that author might not want his or her reputation to follow them into another genre and may wish to build an entirely new one. A pseudonym is a great way to separate styles of writing into distinct “personalities” for use in different arenas.
How do I register a copyright with my pseudonym or pen name?
This depends on your reasons for writing under a pseudonym in the first place—namely, whether you want to keep your real name secret or not.
Copyrighting under a pen name: Secret
If you’re copyrighting under a pen name in order to avoid persecution for criticizing your government, you probably don’t want your real name listed in the publicly available copyright records. Here’s how to accomplish this.
- Leave the author section blank. If you provide a name here, it will remain on file with the Copyright Office and cannot be removed at a later date; simply do not insert your legal name when prompted for the author of the book.
- Check “pseudonym” and insert your pen name in the pseudonym field.
- Insert the pseudonym as the claimant (or owner) rather than your legal name.
- Do not provide any personally identifying information for the “public contact information” field. It’s generally a good idea to still provide some sort of information so that the US Copyright Office’s database can act as a directory for anyone needing to contact you, but if you don’t want to give out your real name here, you can provide the pseudonym, an email address, and a PO box (or no mailing address at all).
There are other fields in which to insert contact information, but one of these is strictly for correspondence with the Copyright Office and one is the person to whom the Copyright Certificate should be mailed. Neither of these sections of your copyright application will be made public.
Note: Once you’ve registered your copyright under your pen name and covered all of your tracks, it’s up to you to determine how you’re going to prove your copyright ownership to the courts, if should ever become necessary; if someone steals your work and publishes it as their own, how will you prove to them it’s not? Unless you’ve legally connected your legal name with your pen name, such as with a fictitious name filing, it’s going to be difficult to prove ownership.
Note: Most copyright registrations expire 70 years after the death of the author. With a secret pseudonym copyright registration, since there is no real person acting as author, the copyright term is good for either 95 years after first publication, or 120 years from creation—whichever is earlier.
Copyrighting under a pen name: Pseudonym and Legal Name
Not all authors need to (or want to) keep their true identity on lockdown. For example, a children’s author who just wanted to create a fun author identity for the benefit of her audience probably doesn’t mind if those children’s parents are able to find out who she really is. Or, if a pen name is used because of an industry or genre crossover so that the author’s real name isn’t used in promotional materials and marketing to avoid confusion, that doesn’t necessarily mean the author is actively keeping it a secret.
Here’s how to register a copyright to reflect the pen name or pseudonym printed on your book covers, but also keeping your legal name connected to the records.
- Put your legal name down as author. This will be public record.
- Check “pseudonym” and insert the pen name you’re using.
- Put your legal name down as claimant. This will also be public record.
- Continue filing your application like normal. Your public records, once filed, will now reflect that the copyright is owned by you, listing your legal name, but that you use a specified pen name or pseudonym.
Again, it’s always a good idea to provide public contact information; this does not necessarily have to be your home address. Many authors provide a PO box or mail center address for the public contact information section so as not to create a searchable record of their copyright that list their family’s home.
Registering the copyright
For $35 ($45 if you’re submitting your application through the mail), you can send your work electronically to the US Copyright Office. While the date of copyright registration is effective the date the Copyright Office receives your work and complete application, you will not receive official documentation of this for around three months.
[ClickAndCopyright provides author copyright registrations—secret or no—for as low as $69 (and this includes the $35 US Copyright Office's fee!). What are you waiting for?]
TAGS: author, copyright, copyright certificate, copyright in secret, copyright office, copyright registration, copyright secretly, gender, genre, legal name, pen name, pseudonym, register copyright, secret copyright, security, US copyright office
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This Friday, we’re all about copyrights! Here are a few excellent resources we’ve found this week to help guide you through some copyright-related issues.
- “The Pointless Copyright Freakout Over Pinterest” by Mike Masnick of TechDirt
Pinterest has been making waves these past few months—among adoring fans, bloggers, and lawyers alike. Mr. Masnick gives us a closer look at the legal issues (or nonissues, depending on who you talk to) surrounding Pinterest as it relates to photographers. Threat or opportunity? You be the judge.
- “Looking Good: Simple Ways to Create Sensational Blog Images” by Jo Gifford, guest blog post on ProBlogger
For some reason, copyright infringement for images—especially images found online—seems to be a lot more misunderstood than similar infringement for text and other mediums. Jo Gifford neatly sidesteps this issue by bringing you great tips on creating your own blog and website images, both giving you interesting and fresh material and keeping you infringement-free.
- “Dutch Research Reveals Wide Scope For Copyright Flexibilities In EU Laws” by Glyn Moody of PHPHosts
If you feel like current copyright laws are laughably rigid and stifle creativity and innovation, you’re not alone. But in the Netherlands, there’s hope. This excellent post highlights some of the areas of fair use that the Dutch government is taking steps to expand on have the potential to pave the way for the future of copyright protection.
- “What Is Copyright Infringement?” by Sarah Kolb of Click&Inc’s Business Blog
Until the Netherlands rule the world, here’s one from the vaults: this two-part posting from May of 2011 is a Q&A-syle look at some of the commonly misunderstood areas of copyright infringement as it is today.
Happy weekend!
TAGS: blog, bloggers, copyright, copyright infringement, infringement, pinterest
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Creative professionals today are more at risk of becoming victims of copyright infringement today than ever before—with everything interconnected and easily accessible, the ability to provide someone else’s recording for download or snag and repost a photo is now child’s play.
Image courtesy of Andy Wright; some rights reserved.
But, conversely, it’s now also a simple matter for you to monitor the Internet for improper use. Where years ago uncovering a source of bootlegged editions might take months, if not years, material uploaded to the Internet is discoverable almost immediately. Here’s how you can stay vigil and cast your net for improper use of your material.
Google Images
You know that Google Images is a great way to search the Internet for images by keyword, but did you know you can also use it to look for duplicates of a specific image? If you’ve been doing your Google searches in the little corner tab on your browser, but you haven’t been to the homepage lately (since around June of 2011), you may not be aware of this feature—but it’s key to searching the Internet for your material if you’re a painter, photographer, or other visual artist.
Give it a shot—head over to Google’s homepage and look in the search bar: you’ll see a little camera. Click that, upload the picture you’re looking for, and voilà—you’ll know who’s been hosting your material before you can say Click.
TinEye
Before Google, there was TinEye. This small Canadian company was using image recognition software far before Google implemented it (Google image searches were previously text-based and relied on tags and descriptions), and they have a very small, dedicated team that has been working for years to categorize and make available literally billions of images. Their parent company, Idée Inc, has produced other image recognition software programs that you may find useful on your hunt.
Search in Quotes
And then there’s my personal favorite, useful for locating written material: just go to your favorite search engine and type in the first sentence or two in quotes. The results will show you where the written material has been reprinted. (It’s also a serviceable, if inelegant, way of connecting snippets of lyrics to the songs and bands responsible, I’ve found.)
Image courtesy of Alan Klim; some rights reserved
At the end of the day, it’s important to be aware and engaged. And if you do find that your copyrighted material is being hosted somewhere without your permission, it’s always a good idea to send a friendly request that your music is taken down. After all, not everyone is aware that it’s not legal to repost pictures or photographs belonging to someone else; there may be no malice intended, and the person using your work might take it down immediately with apologies. (Or, of course, it’s your right to allow them to keep using the image, provided they attribute it to you and link back to your sight.)
And if you don’t receive a response, there’s one more alternative before jumping into a legal battle: a Cease and Desist form.
Happy hunting!
[For more information, check out our April '11 post, "Cease And Desist Letter: The Affordable Way To Battle Copyright Infringement."]
TAGS: cease and desist, copyright, copyright infringement, copyrighted material, google images, idee inc, image recognition, painting, photo, tineye
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Want to use copyrighted material? Just ask!
We all know what constitutes copyright infringement—using someone else’s work without permission in a way that does not include fair use. You respect copyrights, and you want to comply with the law. But how do you use someone else’s work legally?
When you might need to ask permission
If you’re a blogger, you might want to use someone’s photography to accent your post. If you’re a musician, you might want to sample a few measures from a classical recording and use it in your hip-hop track. A filmmaker might want to use a specific song over the end credits; a documentarian might want to show historical documents or photographs during the film.
There are any number of reasons you’d need permission from someone to use material you didn’t create. Unless you’re sure your use is fair use (which might be the case if you photocopied an article for discussion in the classroom, for example, or you’re a news reporter using a photograph for a story), you could be opening yourself up to a lawsuit.
You know you need to get permission from the copyright owner to use the work—but what does that entail? How do you ask for permission?
Who to contact for permission
The person in charge of giving permission to use copyrighted material may or may not be the initial creator of the art; while by default the author automatically owns the copyright, there may be a different permissions department as a part of a greater organization, which handles all permissions on behalf of that author—or the author may not still be the legal owner of his work at all.
Let’s take a look at the various ways we might ask for permission to use somebody’s copyrighted material for your own use.
Website
One of the first places to check, if you know who’s responsible for the material, is that person or group’s website.
For instance, if you’d like to license an independent up-and-coming band, your best bet would be to contact them directly and present your request by sending an email to the Contact Us address. Tell them a little bit about your project—any self-respecting musician is going to want to know how you intend to use their material. And make sure to mention how giving you permission to use their song will give them exposure too!
Copyright Office
If you’re having trouble connecting a particular work to a logical website, take a look at the US Copyright Office’s database.
When an artist officially registers a copyright, he or she has the option of providing public contact information so that someone in your situation can request permission to use the work. (Note that in order to search a record, you need to have basic information about the work: the title, the author, or ideally the copyright registration number itself.)
Performing Rights Organization
Most commercial artists belong to one of the top three performing rights organizations: BMI, ASCAP, or SESAC. Artists can only belong to one of these; to determine which organization your artist in question belongs to, below are links to the Search section of each organization:
What if you can’t find the copyright owner?
There are many cases where you might find a photograph or image online in a way not connected to the copyright owner. Maybe someone else posted the material without permission, so your source is not a source that can help you. Or perhaps you heard a song, but you’re not able to determine the artist in order to ask permission.
Whatever the reason, one thing is clear: not being able to locate the copyright owner is not an excuse for copyright permission. If you can’t find the owner to ask for permission to use copyrighted material, then you can’t legally use the material.
You might argue that if you can’t find the owner, the chances that he or she will suddenly come out of the woodwork to claim copyright infringement are slim. If you’d like to gamble with your intellectual property and chance a lawsuit, that’s entirely your business—but a safer bet would be to abandon using the work entirely and either find something in the public domain to use or search for an acceptable work that carries a Creative Commons license.
TAGS: ascap, ask for permission, ask permission, author, bmi, copyright, copyright owner, copyrighted material, creative commons, creative commons license, intellectual property, license, musician, performing rights organization, sesac
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Creative artists need to know how to manage and keep control of their intellectual property!
Have you ever heard that saying about politicians—that the reason we’re in such a mess is that those best suited for leadership are the ones that would never seek leadership for themselves?
Creative artists sometimes experience a converse paradox: an artist is not by definition a businessperson, and artists may have no desire to learn about legal business practice and intellectual property—but because of this, it’s extremely important for them to learn a little about their rights to their work so that those rights are not abused.
This post discusses four important tools a creative artist can use to leverage exactly what aspects of his or her work to maintain control of—and what other people may legally do with it:
- Model Release Form
- Work for Hire Agreement
- Copyright Transfer Agreement
- Copyright Licensing Form
Let’s take a closer look at each of these tools that can help you manage your intellectual property and allow others to use it in a way that you see fit.
Model Release Form
Especially suited to photographers, a model release form is used at the time of the shoot. It is used for any human subjects to agree that the resulting intellectual property is that of the photographer, and that the model will not claim any ownership in the material.
Though technically only necessary when using a photograph for commercial use, you never know when someone might make you an offer on a photograph you never intended to sell to use in a commercial or advertisement—and what will you do then, months or even years after the fact, with no idea where your model can be found, and even if you can find her, no idea if she’ll agree to sign the model release? It’s typically a good idea to have all your bases covered and ask all your models, regardless of your current intention for the photographs, to sign a release form from the very beginning. This way, you can settle any ownership issues before they even arise and avoid any messy legal entanglements.
More information is available in the “Model Release Form” article on Hubpages.
Work for Hire Agreement
A work for hire agreement is common for independent creative artists of all types; photographers, writers, designers, and other independent artists may already be familiar with them.
Generally, copyright law states that during the course of an employment (“employment” meaning the employee has work hours set, taxes withheld, benefits provided, vacation days, and so on), anything created by the employee as a standard part of that employment is considered the intellectual property of the employer.
However, this does not apply to independent contractors, who typically make their own hours, provide their own equipment, and do not have taxes withheld from their payment (more information on this distinction at the IRS’s article, “Independent Contractor or Employee?“). An independent contractor is not bound by copyright laws dictating a standard employment structure, and without a work for hire agreement, generally, a work created by the independent contractor legally belongs to that contractor.
This can be a problem in any number of cases—if a business hires a designer to create its website, does it make sense for the designer to keep the rights to the website? Unless ownership is specified in a work for hire or other agreement, that’s what happens, and this can cause issues further down the line when your business grows.
To settle the question of ownership, a work for hire agreement can be used at the time of the commission (before the work has been created). Ivan Hoffman has some excellent information about when this is and is not the appropriate agreement in his article, “Work Made For Hire Agreements.”
Copyright Transfer Agreement
If you forgot to sign a work for hire agreement before the work was finished, there’s always the copyright transfer agreement—this is used to transfer ownership from one party to another, and this can be done after the work is already completed.
With a copyright licensing agreement, your work can be used only in the ways you specify.
There are any number of situations in which a copyright transfer agreement is the best choice. Consider the following scenario:
A band creates an album, but one member amicably quits the band, settles down, gets married, decides to forget about the music scene altogether. (Boo.) But the rest of the band decides to carry on and push the album through extensive touring, radio spots, and hard work. Licensing is an option, but since the ex-member is no longer putting forth any effort to promote the album and drive up sales, everyone agrees to a copyright transfer agreement, effectively shifting all stake in the album to the remaining members.
Another scenario:
I take a picture for personal reasons and I keep the copyright. A local business sees it and contacts me to use the picture for their website, sign, and all promotional materials. They essentially want the picture to become a part of their brand. It makes sense for me to sell all rights to the image to the business so that it’s theirs to use exclusively for as long as they like, and I ask them to cut me a check for handing it over. Everybody wins!
For more information on transfer agreements, take a look at what copyright law has to say about copyright ownership and transfer.
Copyright Licensing Form
In the second scenario above, what if I don’t want the business to have exclusive rights to my photograph? What if I want to let them use it on their website, but I don’t want it on any other material? A copyright licensing form can outline those restrictions, allowing me to maintain the copyright over my photograph and allowing the business to use it in a specified way, for a specified amount of time, for a specified fee.
There are many different types of licenses, not all involving fees. For instance, some licenses (common in software) allow users to download the material for free, provided that they use the work in its entirely (rather than strip out bits of code and repurposing it for other uses) and credit the creator. Regardless of the fact that no money changes hands here, these usage licenses are consistently upheld by the courts.
[For more information on copyright licensing and other usage issues, take a look at Click and Copyright's in-depth publication, "Your Copyright Questions—Answered!" or check out their individual intellectual property forms for download.]
TAGS: agreement, copyright licensing, copyright ownership, copyright transfer, forms, independent contractor, intellectual property, model release, release form, work for hire
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As a blogger, I like to hang around various online communities, joining the conversation and getting a feel for what people are talking about and what sort of information they’re looking for. It gives me a chance to connect and read other writers’ material, and it has the sometimes unexpected result of giving me an awareness of some of the misinformation out there around certain topics.
Copyright law being the complex, nuanced, and convoluted creature that it is, it’s no surprise that there is a level of, shall we say, mystique that shrouds the topic. There is one example in particular of oversimplification bordering on misinformation that I’ve found perpetuated by a portion of the online community that I would like to break down for you.
The rumor goes a little something like this:
There’s no reason to register your copyright with the Copyright Office—protection is automatic.
It’s true that your work is your own simply by creating it. As long as it exists somewhere outside of your own head, you automatically own the copyright to your work. In fact, let’s look at the Copyright Office’s circular on this very topic:
Excerpt from "Copyright Basics," p.2 (USCO)
At this point I would like to remind you all that I am not a lawyer, and this is not to be taken as legal advice. I am a blogger, one who happens to have been around a heck of a lot of Copyright Office material and is pretty quick with a screenshot.
Now, my problem with this one-size-fits-all answer is that it’s overly simplistic. No, you don’t need an official registration in order to be protected—but exercising that protection is another story entirely.
Further down in the same circular is the following:
Excerpt from "Copyright Basics," p.7 (USCO)
Sure, fine. Waiting until someone abuses your material and then registering for a copyright is completely legally valid.
But, since a copyright registration—which typically costs $35—can take up to 9 months or even longer, by the time it gets to that, you’ll probably want to rush the registration.
And how much will it cost to rush a copyright registration filing? Back to the Copyright Office:
From "US Copyright Office -- Fees"
Again, this isn’t legal advice. It isn’t even financial advice. I’m simply pointing out that the fact that while waiting to register your copyright until it’s time to sue someone is 100% legal—personally, I’d rather spend $35 now than $760 later, amiright?
You might not be the type of person that would ever intend to file suit against anyone. This has to be your decision, and I’m not telling you what to do with your intellectual property. It is simply my intention to point out the potential fees involved in waiting until copyright infringement becomes a problem. Again, all decisions about your intellectual property should be made with the input of your lawyer or legal advisor.
[Check out Click&Copyright's intellectual property toolkit for forms and publications to help you understand—and protect—your legal rights.]
TAGS: $35, automatic, copyright basics, copyright law, copyright office, copyright registration, fees, intellectual property, US copyright office
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