Protecting your writing

For over a year, I've covered the adjuncts' move to unionize for The Temple News. Two of the stories I've written about adjuncts were uploaded to a website called AdjunctNation.com without the permission of myself, my editors or the paper sponsor.

When I discovered that one of these stories had been made subscriber-only content with a false disclaimer that the compensation went directly to the writers, and that the other had no byline at all, I contacted a lawyer. While he couldn't represent my case because his firm only takes on businesses as clients, he offered some advice. While he said copyright usually lies with the writer from the moment a story is written, I probably had no case because I hadn't registered my work with a copyright office.

This happened about a month ago, and since then, the website has taken down the non-byline story (and hasn't paid me for my other story which remains online).

Today, I found an explanation of a writer's rights on the website of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Because I don't want this to happen to anyone else (although I guess it is inevitable), I wanted to share this with you.

First, here's a basic explanation of how the copyright lies with you the writer from the moment it's written, unless you sell your rights:

"As a freelance writer, unless you've signed a work-made-for-hire agreement or otherwise transferred copyright, what you write belongs to you. You need not put a little "c" in a circle on it. You need not register it with the Copyright Office. The work need not even be published for your copyright to take effect. The copyright is yours immediately. If your work appears in a periodical, the publisher owns the copyright in the entire issue as a collective work, but not in your individual work. The publisher may print a little © with its company name and file the issue with the Copyright Office, but its protection covers the issue as an issue, not the articles within. The copyright in your writing is yours unless and until, induced by cash or cowed by threats, you sign it away."

According to the ASJA, when your copyright is infringed, you can sue only if you have registered your work -- but you can do this after the infringement occurs, as long as the article was published within the last 30 days, as the website reads:

"Under the law, if your copyright is infringed, you can't sue unless the work has been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. You can, of course, wait until there's a problem before you bother filing a registration application. But there's a good reason to file as a matter of routine."

Check out the rest of the article for an explanation of the kind of damages that can be awarded, how much registration costs, and what kind of forms you need.

The above image is of Winona Ryder as Dinky Bossetti in the 1990 film "Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael."