Copyright page

mr ploppy · 03-12-2011, 09:51 AM

Does this cover everything that needs covering?

Copyright © 2011 by (my writing name).

All rights reserved.

http://website

http://blog

emailaddress@gmail.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or places is entirely coincidental.

This ebook edition March 2011.

Feel free to distribute this anywhere you like, but don’t change, add or remove anything. And no charging money for it either. If you do, the author will hunt you down and kill your entire family and post the video on Youtube as a warning to others.

-------
Then on the last page:

Thanks for reading. If you would like to read more stories like this, please donate any amount you like direct to the author via the begging bowl on his website, or just offer words of encouragement if you’re skint.

If you have already donated and would like to help in other ways, please tell anyone you think might be interested, mention it on your Blog, review it on Goodreads, Twitter about it, anything else you think might help.

(+ websites & email)

HarryT · 03-12-2011, 11:13 AM

Making threats to kill, even in jest, is not a good idea. There are people out there with no sense of humour.

Catlady · 03-12-2011, 11:26 AM

Don't know what kind of book you write, but I would be totally turned off by the tone and the "joke," enough so that, frankly, I just wouldn't bother to read any further--I would find your sense of humor and mine to be a complete mismatch, which would make me think that I would not enjoy your book.

Yes, I am probably one of those people to whom Harry T. refers.

mr ploppy · 03-12-2011, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Don't know what kind of book you write, but I would be totally turned off by the tone and the "joke," enough so that, frankly, I just wouldn't bother to read any further--I would find your sense of humor and mine to be a complete mismatch, which would make me think that I would not enjoy your book.

Yes, I am probably one of those people to whom Harry T. refers.

What if I just beat them around the head instead of killing them?

Or what would be another way of getting across the idea that I don't want anyone to profit from it without going all "suit" about it?

The "joke" would be in keeping with the rest of the content, so if it does put anyone off that would probably be a good thing.

Catlady · 03-12-2011, 11:53 AM

Why threaten any consequence at all? Why not just say something like:

"This book may be freely distributed as long as no changes are made and no fees are charged."

Worldwalker · 03-12-2011, 08:50 PM

I'm with Harry. Humor doesn't come across well in text. If you're going to say something like that, it has to be so over-the-top that nobody would expect it -- I once saw "the leather-winged demon of the night will eat your liver". But the way it is, instead of coming across as "the author is funny" (something I know because I know you here on MR) it comes across as "the author is a jerk, and maybe a bit scary". That's not good marketing.

I'd go with Catlady's version. People are going to know you don't want them to profit from it. Just saying "hey, I wrote this thing, so if anyone makes a buck off it, that should be me" in some more formal way is good enough.

mr ploppy · 03-13-2011, 05:59 AM

I wouldn't mind being thought of as a bit scary, but fair points. Is the rest of it okay?

spiritualtramp · 03-14-2011, 12:13 PM

Looks good to me. Isn't this basically a Creative Commons license? You should probably have a look at how those are worded.

(Also, I love the joke, but more mature heads may need to prevail on this one.)

mr ploppy · 03-14-2011, 07:44 PM

It's basically hooligan-lit, so I'm not too worried about offending anyone. I'm hovering between using "or you'll get a kicking" and taking the free to distribute part out completely. I'm a bit worried it might put people off circulating it around the pirate sites if they think it is available somewhere for free legitimately. And I really do want the pirate readers, but I don't want the hassle of maintaining uploads on them all.

Elfwreck · 03-14-2011, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

I wouldn't mind being thought of as a bit scary, but fair points. Is the rest of it okay?

The problem with putting any threats in it--even as a joke--is that if someone gets attacked in the way you described, they may assume you somehow made that happen.

If you say, "don't charge for it or your house will get burned down," and they sell their laptop with who-knows-what-files on it, and then their house burns down, they may charge you with arson. (Which is not particularly reasonable, but people whose houses just burned down aren't known for their strong logic and calm rationality skills.)

If you feel that "funny threat" really is part of what you want to include, make it completely outrageous. "If you charge money for this without clearing it with the author, green-skinned tentacled aliens from Beta Eridani will send the orbital mind-control lasers to infect your third-grade teacher with wizard pox and EVERYONE WILL KNOW IT'S YOUR FAULT."

Vague but actually physically possible threats are a really, really bad idea.

mr ploppy · 03-15-2011, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

If you feel that "funny threat" really is part of what you want to include, make it completely outrageous. "If you charge money for this without clearing it with the author, green-skinned tentacled aliens from Beta Eridani will send the orbital mind-control lasers to infect your third-grade teacher with wizard pox and EVERYONE WILL KNOW IT'S YOUR FAULT."

Vague but actually physically possible threats are a really, really bad idea.

Yeah, fair point. "All rights reserved" would probably cover anything that needs covering anyway, so I'll probably cut it off at that point.

I think something trippy-hippy like that would actually count against me a lot more with my target readers than threats of violence.

Besides, if aliens did invade soon after it was published I would only get the blame for it.

spaze · 03-20-2011, 02:37 AM

Does anyone even read those copyright mumbo-jumbo? Not me, I always skip them as quickly as possible.

So why would it matter to you how much in detail you go into or should you just include Copyright 2011, your name.

DMSmillie · 03-20-2011, 03:50 AM

It's not a case of expecting everyone to read the stuff. It's there in case you need to prove at some later date that you made it clear, in each copy of the book, what was or was not permitted, in terms of copying, reselling, etc. If it ever came to a court case, it makes it that much more difficult for the other person to claim it wasn't clear that they couldn't copy and sell the book without getting your permission first. While stating that the book is under copyright is good, it doesn't explicitly clarify what permissions you're giving (or not) to anyone who acquires a copy.

HarryT · 03-20-2011, 04:36 AM

Copyright law specifies what those permissions are; there's no need for the author to also do so. There's no need even to include a copyright notice, although I would concede that it's a good idea to do so.

spaze · 03-20-2011, 05:26 AM

If it would go to court, the judge would look really really bad at you with the threat to kill someone's family.

Seriously, get over it and understand that your so called humor won't make a difference to those who break copyright laws anyways. And do you seriously think they would believe you would kill their family?

Oh well, it's your book...

03-12-2011, 09:51 AM	#1
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	Copyright page Does this cover everything that needs covering? Copyright © 2011 by (my writing name). All rights reserved. http://website http://blog emailaddress@gmail.com This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or places is entirely coincidental. This ebook edition March 2011. Feel free to distribute this anywhere you like, but don’t change, add or remove anything. And no charging money for it either. If you do, the author will hunt you down and kill your entire family and post the video on Youtube as a warning to others. ------- Then on the last page: Thanks for reading. If you would like to read more stories like this, please donate any amount you like direct to the author via the begging bowl on his website, or just offer words of encouragement if you’re skint. If you have already donated and would like to help in other ways, please tell anyone you think might be interested, mention it on your Blog, review it on Goodreads, Twitter about it, anything else you think might help. (+ websites & email)

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03-12-2011, 11:13 AM	#2
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Making threats to kill, even in jest, is not a good idea. There are people out there with no sense of humour.

03-12-2011, 11:26 AM	#3
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Don't know what kind of book you write, but I would be totally turned off by the tone and the "joke," enough so that, frankly, I just wouldn't bother to read any further--I would find your sense of humor and mine to be a complete mismatch, which would make me think that I would not enjoy your book. Yes, I am probably one of those people to whom Harry T. refers.

03-12-2011, 11:53 AM	#5
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Why threaten any consequence at all? Why not just say something like: "This book may be freely distributed as long as no changes are made and no fees are charged."

03-12-2011, 08:50 PM	#6
Worldwalker Curmudgeon Posts: 3,085 Karma: 722357 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: PRS-505	I'm with Harry. Humor doesn't come across well in text. If you're going to say something like that, it has to be so over-the-top that nobody would expect it -- I once saw "the leather-winged demon of the night will eat your liver". But the way it is, instead of coming across as "the author is funny" (something I know because I know you here on MR) it comes across as "the author is a jerk, and maybe a bit scary". That's not good marketing. I'd go with Catlady's version. People are going to know you don't want them to profit from it. Just saying "hey, I wrote this thing, so if anyone makes a buck off it, that should be me" in some more formal way is good enough.

03-13-2011, 05:59 AM	#7
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	I wouldn't mind being thought of as a bit scary, but fair points. Is the rest of it okay?

03-14-2011, 12:13 PM	#8
spiritualtramp Member Posts: 12 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: NC Device: Kindle	Looks good to me. Isn't this basically a Creative Commons license? You should probably have a look at how those are worded. (Also, I love the joke, but more mature heads may need to prevail on this one.)

03-14-2011, 07:44 PM	#9
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	It's basically hooligan-lit, so I'm not too worried about offending anyone. I'm hovering between using "or you'll get a kicking" and taking the free to distribute part out completely. I'm a bit worried it might put people off circulating it around the pirate sites if they think it is available somewhere for free legitimately. And I really do want the pirate readers, but I don't want the hassle of maintaining uploads on them all.

03-20-2011, 02:37 AM	#12
spaze Addict Posts: 265 Karma: 512072 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Helsinki, Finland Device: Writing my first short story: Guardian Angel	Does anyone even read those copyright mumbo-jumbo? Not me, I always skip them as quickly as possible. So why would it matter to you how much in detail you go into or should you just include Copyright 2011, your name.

03-20-2011, 03:50 AM	#13
DMSmillie Enquiring Mind Posts: 562 Karma: 42350 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: London, UK Device: Kindle 3 (WiFi)	It's not a case of expecting everyone to read the stuff. It's there in case you need to prove at some later date that you made it clear, in each copy of the book, what was or was not permitted, in terms of copying, reselling, etc. If it ever came to a court case, it makes it that much more difficult for the other person to claim it wasn't clear that they couldn't copy and sell the book without getting your permission first. While stating that the book is under copyright is good, it doesn't explicitly clarify what permissions you're giving (or not) to anyone who acquires a copy.

03-20-2011, 04:36 AM	#14
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Copyright law specifies what those permissions are; there's no need for the author to also do so. There's no need even to include a copyright notice, although I would concede that it's a good idea to do so.

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03-20-2011, 05:26 AM	#15
spaze Addict Posts: 265 Karma: 512072 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Helsinki, Finland Device: Writing my first short story: Guardian Angel	If it would go to court, the judge would look really really bad at you with the threat to kill someone's family. Seriously, get over it and understand that your so called humor won't make a difference to those who break copyright laws anyways. And do you seriously think they would believe you would kill their family? Oh well, it's your book...