05-08-2012, 09:50 PM | #16 | |
Evangelist
Posts: 438
Karma: 3409790
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Maui
Device: kindle
|
Quote:
|
|
05-09-2012, 03:42 AM | #17 | |
cacoethes scribendi
Posts: 5,809
Karma: 137770742
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Australia
Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650
|
Quote:
The second form of proof you can offer is some non-family member that has reviewed an early draft of your work - let them keep their copy as proof if it becomes needed. If you become famous it could even become valuable to them. These things are easy to do, and much less likely to run you into trouble than, for example, trying to get contracts signed before an agent/publisher has seen the full work, and you don't have to wait 90 days (or more) just to have your proof established. Added to all this is needed a touch of realism. Don't panic about reputable agents and publishers. Your work would need to be seriously good to tempt people whose business it is to agent and publish books. And what is seriously good anyway? It's not like the people that rejected the first Harry Potter book knew what it was they were losing out on. If someone looks at some bright idea and likes it so much they want to use it, then use it they can and copyright won't help you. Much safer for someone (who knows what they're doing) to write their own version of an idea than to risk stealing the work of another - especially when they are not to know just what proof of copyright the true owner already has. |
|
05-09-2012, 04:44 AM | #18 |
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
Reading this it makes it sound as if plagiarism is a significant issue in publishing. I know there's been the occasional well-publicised case, but it is REALLY a widespread problem?
|
05-09-2012, 05:30 AM | #19 | |
I write stories.
Posts: 700
Karma: 16437432
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Northern Germany
Device: kindle
|
Quote:
In the SFWA discussion forums, there is a great deal of talk about piracy of published works. There is very little concern that agents or editors might plagiarize one's submissions. |
|
05-09-2012, 07:33 AM | #20 | |
cacoethes scribendi
Posts: 5,809
Karma: 137770742
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Australia
Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650
|
Quote:
There is potential for ideas to be "borrowed" (a separate issue), and some people get concerned about this -- but as I noted in my previous post, copyright doesn't help you here anyway. Such borrowing of ideas is very widespread (witness all the fan-fiction out there), but does it happen very often that the original creator of the idea loses out? I don't know, and this is even harder to prove, since there can be no case to bring before a court. |
|
05-09-2012, 07:35 AM | #21 |
eBook Enthusiast
Posts: 85,544
Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
|
And, of course, an "idea" cannot be copyrighted. Anyone is free to write a book about a boy going to a school for wizards.
|
05-09-2012, 11:35 PM | #22 | |
Addict
Posts: 230
Karma: 3799024
Join Date: May 2012
Device: iPad
|
Quote:
Just curious, was this from their fiction line, or on their gaming side? |
|
05-10-2012, 05:58 AM | #23 | |
I write stories.
Posts: 700
Karma: 16437432
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Northern Germany
Device: kindle
|
Quote:
As I recall, this was from their open call for series to be written as work-for-hire. Authors pitched a series idea and the outline for the first book and were then put under contract for the full set, or something like that. Several authors claimed that WotC had lifted their submitted series idea and commissioned an author with a more established career to do the actual writing on it. Disclaimer: This was about eight years ago and I wasn't paying much attention at the time, so I might not have all the facts straight. |
|
05-10-2012, 07:55 PM | #24 | |
Frequent Flier
Posts: 1,282
Karma: 2058993297
Join Date: Oct 2011
Device: KB kindle aboard, Galx Tab 7.0 Plus, trying out Droid 1 as mini-tab
|
Quote:
|
|
05-10-2012, 08:37 PM | #25 | |
Zealot
Posts: 146
Karma: 7462052
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Dublin
Device: My phone
|
Quote:
If someone did come up with an original idea, the editor would say "Yes, write that and send it to me". Same with novels. It's easier all round just to pay the person who wrote the great novel, rather than try to steal it and cope with the flack the results. |
|
05-10-2012, 08:40 PM | #26 |
Zealot
Posts: 146
Karma: 7462052
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Dublin
Device: My phone
|
While no-one enjoys getting them, this is one time those rejections slips come in useful. If you can produce a handful of rejection slips for "My Wonderful Idea" it's proof that you've had this novel for a while, and have shown it to other people.
|
05-10-2012, 11:02 PM | #27 |
Addict
Posts: 230
Karma: 3799024
Join Date: May 2012
Device: iPad
|
It's a company: Wizards of the Coast. They're typically known for the Collectible Card Game (CCG) Magic: The Gathering (and its related media tie-in novels) but they eventually acquired other properties like TSR, which published Dungeons & Dragons.
They publish several gaming books and media tie-in novels every year. |
05-10-2012, 11:10 PM | #28 |
Addict
Posts: 230
Karma: 3799024
Join Date: May 2012
Device: iPad
|
In retrospect, the bigger problem when it comes to peddling your manuscript to reputable agents and publishers isn't likely going to be plagiarism (considering the number of submissions they receive, it's probably not worth the effort) but reaping the benefits of your copyrighted work.
Brian Keene for example has documented how Dorchester violated his copyright (and that of other authors): http://www.briankeene.com/?p=6140 Kristine Kathryn Rusch also documents how some publishers have failed to properly compensate her for royalties (her website just suffered from a Wordpress attack/hack so I don't have a direct link right now). One author who often litigates is Harlan Ellison, and while there are some battles he deserves to "win," there are some that surprises me as well. |
05-26-2012, 02:37 PM | #29 | |
occasional author
Posts: 2,314
Karma: 2064403292
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Wandering God's glorious hills, valleys and plains.
Device: A Franklin BI (before Internet) was the first. I still have it.
|
Quote:
For myself: (A) - Yes (B) - Just one of those perfunctory cautions that that seems to work in my favor to avoid any headaches. Anything I send off has at least "Copyright applied for." (C) - N/A (Note. There are some ins and outs not discussed above.) |
|
05-27-2012, 02:43 AM | #30 |
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,305
Karma: 43993832
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Monroe Wisconsin
Device: K3, Kindle Paperwhite, Calibre, and Mobipocket for Pc (netbook)
|
True though the more common threads one book has with another author's book the greater the chance of someone saying that author x stole my story and claimed it as his/her own. J.K. Rowling has faced that problem herself I believe. Another author had written similar stories at about the same time as her 1st Harry Potter books were coming out and terms like "Muggles" were used in both stories as well so the other author took Ms. Rowling to court accusing her of plagarism as I recall. Which isn't to say that it doesn't happen either. There was a romance novelist who 'borrowed' shall we say ideas that were the work of another author in the genre and there was a big stink about it. In the end there is no such thing as a totally original idea I don't think. Every author draws on experiences in their lives and being that all authors are human beings there are going to be some common themes and ideas. The trick is to mix them up in an original manner so the stories seem to be fresh and new even though the basic plots were laid down by the time of Aristotle if not before.
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Copyright | James_Wilde | Writers' Corner | 6 | 09-27-2010 10:28 PM |
Copyright? | fishcube | LRF | 5 | 09-09-2009 06:39 AM |
In Copyright? - Copyright Renewal Database launched | Alexander Turcic | News | 26 | 07-09-2008 09:36 AM |
Government US Copyright Office: Report on Orphan Works. US Copyright Office. PDF | Nate the great | Other Books | 0 | 01-03-2008 07:16 PM |