[Resources] Publishing rights and the internet

[Darkchild]

Quite interesting, thank you for writing this up.

[ShadowCG]

Do you know of anyone that would publish a non-educated *haven't gone to school and got a masters in English* person? Or even a place where I can present some of the works I have done?

[Medesha]

Education is not required for a lot of (I would say most) publishers. Unless you're writing a textbook. What kind of work are you looking to publish?

[ShadowCG]

Fantasy stories that I have been writing based on DnD adventures

[Medesha]

If they are short stories, there aren't a whole lot of markets. Try The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Leading Edge, Weird Tales, or OnSpec. Be advised these markets are very competitive. Send your absolute best work and triple-check to make sure there are no typos!

[traumatrashfusion]

Tread carefully here. Some rather large corporations like Google, Microsoft and Publishing Houses are trying to push legislation through Congress called The "Orphaned Works Act" that would require you to copyright works with a copyright office or they could be snatched up by large firms for free use as "Orphaned Works." This mainly applies to images but some legal experts expect that it will extend to music and written works as well.

[Honorius]

The "legal experts" are misquoted. Common law and state copyright laws would need to be overcome. The US government cannot take away a person's intellectual property rights without just compensation or without a constitutional amendment. It might deny a federal claim of right, but the copyright holder could still stake a claim on independent state grounds or an unjust enrichment theory.

Passage of the law would be in violation of the Berne Convention. Foreign copyright holders would be unable to enforce their copyrights in this country if it fell under the Act. With the US in violation of the treaty, it would have to pay reparations. If the Act excluded foreign copyright holders, then it would create a 14th Amendment Equal Protection claim. If the Act actually makes it to the president, and were he to sign it into law, you can bet that California will become a copyright safe haven with the passage of laws to fill the gap. We would see intellectual property trusts formed with more frequency in that state to take advantage of their laws.

[Silent Tiger]

Sigh, here goes...

I am considering releasing one of my novel writings as an eBook for use with eBook readers like Kindle and Nook and such. I was looking at just getting my writing out there, free of charge, as opposed to anything officially published, as it is my first novel I ever put to pen. I am more concerned about people enjoying my works at the moment and maybe getting some feedback on, not to mention interest in, my writing.

I am sort of concerned about copyrights. While this book might be free, I might want to continue the series and copyright the other novels in the series. Also, I am concerned that someone could take my work and pass it off as their own.

Are these things to be concerned about? Anyone know about the eBooks specific publishing and my rights going through that type of media? How would I go about copyrighting (or at least retaining my rights) on an eBook?

[Maghnuis]

Let me make a suggestion as a former attorney with some experience in the field: Do not give legal advice without a license to practice law.
For those seeking advice: Contact an attorney in your jurisdiction with experience in intellectual property law.

More advice than this, I cannot give without renewing my license to practice and receiving a retainer.
Neither of those are going to happen.

[SentientRabbit]

Thanks for the useful posts