# Publishing Rights



## NYXTaxiDriver (Jul 8, 2015)

_Hey guys, how do i keep the rights of my works to publish protected? For example if i show somebody a story i wrote or a manuscript, whats to prevent them from just stealing it, then taking it to a publisher and passing it off as their own? Same question for stuff posted on this site and shared privately._


_Thanks,_
_Matthew_


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## AtleanWordsmith (Jul 8, 2015)

Don't know too much about the intricacies involved in intellectual property rights, but a brief search turned up this:

http://www.alllaw.com/articles/intellectual_property/article5.asp

Hope it helps.


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## LeeC (Jul 8, 2015)

It's my understand that posting creative work on the members only boards (e.g. Prose Writers Workshop) protects one's first rights because the work is not accessible to the public. 

As to someone potentially stealing my work, first I only post extracts for critiquing so it's doubtful another writer could piece together similar writing. There is nothing sacred about a story idea (ideas are a dime a dozen), but how that idea is portrayed in a story is what the author has rights to. Also as to one's development of a story, proof of existence (e.g. computer time stamps, and other confirmations) is solid ground for protecting one's rights.

All in all though, an author would need to be exceptionally good and/or already famous for it to be worth it for someone to try to steal their work ;-)

If I've got anything wrong I'm sure others will correct me, so wait for other answers.


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## NYXTaxiDriver (Jul 8, 2015)

Can we request to have something deleted from the board after its been posted?


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## LeeC (Jul 8, 2015)

Considering this as applicable to your original question (otherwise it would be a feedback question):

You can erase your post (via editing) but whether it's deleted depends on the presence of responses. Those who have responded (and may well have quoted portions of your post) have a right to their response remaining and not losing post count.


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## InstituteMan (Jul 8, 2015)

The simplest answer is that no one is wanting to steal your work, at least not to publish it and make money off of it. Someone who steals your work will have at least as hard a time publishing it in the traditional system as you will unless they're already a known author, but in that case they probably have plenty of stories of their own and professional respect for your work. Anyone who steals your work will be as unlikely to make much money on it as you. We are awash in creative content in the age of the internet, so there's no need and little chance that someone is going to pick your work to copy, even though copying work digitally is a trivial endeavor.

Ultimately, of course, copyright protects anyone who writes something (as well as other creators) from copying. In most of the world, you own the copyright in your work as soon as you create the work, so there's not an issue or worry there. Beyond copyright, though, some publishers want to have the right to publish a work for the first time. In this case, "publish" essentially means to make it generally available to the public, even if there's a charge involved. The private workshops here won't typically count as a publication, and sharing a work with a friend certainly won't.

To sum up: don't worry.


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## David Gordon Burke (Jul 9, 2015)

Here´s where the planners have it all over the pantsers.  Write a detailed outline of your story including all plot points, characters etc. the more detail the better.
Photocopy it.  Stick it all in an envelope and mail it to yourself.
When it arrives, DO NOT OPEN THE ENVELOPE.
This will basically serve as a copyright if you ever have the need for proof that you invented an idea ... in a court of law this would be as valid as a contract.
The date on the envelope is proof of what date etc. you thought up the idea.
Of course it would depend on how blatant the rip-off was and how much detail you put into your outline that would prove beyond all doubt that they copied you.  Many people think up the same things at the same time.  It´s inevitable.  

David Gordon Burke


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## John Galt (Jul 9, 2015)

David Gordon Burke said:


> Here´s where the planners have it all over the pantsers.  Write a detailed outline of your story including all plot points, characters etc. the more detail the better.
> Photocopy it.  Stick it all in an envelope and mail it to yourself.
> When it arrives, DO NOT OPEN THE ENVELOPE.
> This will basically serve as a copyright if you ever have the need for proof that you invented an idea ... in a court of law this would be as valid as a contract.
> ...



Surely a timestamp on the post and/or activity log of the site would act as good enough proof.  Besides, ideas can't be protected, not in the artistic sense.  Patents exist for the rest, but I seriously doubt anyone could patent something imaginary.  Execution of ideas, however, is protected automatically.
The second you write a sentence, it gets copyrighted automatically under, I think it's called, BERN (been ages since I've needed to reference it, so might be wrong, but I'm sure it exists, possibly by another name).  If someone infringes on copyright, then they're frankly screwed in any genre.


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## InstituteMan (Jul 9, 2015)

The only (and I do mean only) reasons to mail yourself documentation is that it is (1) cheap and (2) might make you feel better. In actuality, the postal services of the world will usually be more than happy to deliver an unsealed envelope, provided adequate postage has been paid. Probably few people are diabolical enough to mail themselves empty envelopes to help themselves an infringement suit later, but I guarantee you that every attorney worth his or her salt is diabolical enough to to make anyone who does such a thing look like the devil in court. With that knowledge, I'm not sure that the practice should even make anyone feel better--but at least it's cheap. As John mentioned, however, your copyright exists immediately regardless, so there's just not a need to go through the motions of mailing something to yourself.

Plus, no one is trying to copy the work of an unknown author anyway. Don't sweat it.


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## Kyle R (Jul 9, 2015)

Hey Tom, just curious:

How about emailing yourself a copy of the manuscript? Then you have a digital record, with a timestamp. Would that hold up?


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## David Gordon Burke (Jul 9, 2015)

I stand corrected.  Apparently, this is a urban legend.  My bad.

David Gordon Burke


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## InstituteMan (Jul 9, 2015)

Kyle R said:


> Hey Tom, just curious:
> 
> How about emailing yourself a copy of the manuscript? Then you have a digital record, with a timestamp. Would that hold up?



In theory, sure, but timestamps can be faked, too. 

The thing is, establishing when you created something isn't the crux of the issue very often. I've only worked on a couple of copyright infringement lawsuits over the years, but I have never seen or even heard of a case where when an author created a work mattered. 

The disputed issues tend to be whether there was copying at all and whether what was allegedly copied can even be protected by a copyright at all. If the accused copier wins one of these disputes, it's usually because they established that they created their work independently (in which case it doesn't matter how similar they are) or that the parts copied were just the ideas that can't be protected with copyright anyway. 

I'm a creative guy, so I can imagine a scenario where someone claims to own a copyright but can't prove that they created the copyrighted work, but I have never encountered that scenario. Even though I can imagine it happening, I don't think it's likely to occur at all.


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## dale (Jul 10, 2015)

no writer is wanting to steal your work. i realize most of us are narcissists....but that's the point. i wouldn't even think of stealing
 your work because i'm so damn focused on the point that i'm better than you and your work would simply tarnish my image.


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