Copyright Issues: The Difference Between a Copyright and a Registered Copyright

So what’s the big deal about registering a copyright for my book? Don’t I have inherent copyright protection when my work is created? These are a couple of questions we commonly get when either publishing works or performing author consulting services and, unfortunately, most authors don’t understand the distinction between copyright and a registered copyright. Here’s the lowdown on the difference between an inherent copyright and a copyright registered with the United States Copyright Office. (Remember that with any copyright issues, you should consult a licensed lawyer who actually knows something about intellectual property. Not all lawyers are familiar with intellectual property, and we certainly aren’t a legal authority and this article is purely informational.)

As a creator of any intellectual property, you do have an inherent copyright for your work. According to the United States Copyright Office, a copyright is:

Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. [And] your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Here’s the rub. When you finish your book, legally it is your work. However, with this “inherent” copyright you cannot sue someone for copyright infringement. You must register your copyright to have standing in a federal court to take legal action against someone who has hijacked your work. Think of your inherent copyright as an old guard dog with no teeth. Your trusted companion will bark at a burglar all he wants, but your guard dog can’t actually do any damage to the would be sneak thief. A registered copyright gives your guard dog a set of sharp metal dentures fit to chomp copyright infringers with Cujo-esque precision.

We would also strongly suggest that you file for a copyright as soon as your manuscript is finished (and by finished we mean independently proofed, edited, and read by disinterred parties) and before you start shopping your book to agents or publishing houses. It’s uncommon, but the unscrupulous out there could steal your work. Another thing to watch out for is anyone what wants to register a copyright under their name or company’s name. Most legitimate publishing houses can register a copyright for you as your agent. This means that the publishing house is simply filing the paperwork on your behalf, and you are the holder of the copyright. Should you agree to have a third party register a copyright under their name, no matter what “they say”, you’ve lost all legal rights to your work.

Registering a copyright can be as cheap as $35, so it’s an inexpensive insurance policy to protect your work. For more information about copyright registration, visit the United States Copyright Office’s website here.

Follow Grave Distractions Publications on Twitter @GraveDistract, Facebook, Pintrest, or LinkedIn. 

Hippocrates Wept by William F. Quigley, M.D.

Hippocrates Wept takes place in an alternate but not unimaginable post-September 11th world. Wall Street has crashed and HMOs have gone bankrupt. Congress and the President enact a universal healthcare system managed by the federal government. Under the National Health Security Act, hospitals and clinics become the property of the bureaucracy. Medical professionals, now salaried employees of the government, labor under strict diagnostic and treatment regulations set forth by Washington, and citizens are assigned specific physicians. Doctors breaching those mandated doctor-patient lists can be charged with a felony punishable by fines and up to five years in prison.

A vocal opponent of the government’s draconian healthcare policies, Dr. Ted O’Hara performs an emergency surgery for an abdominal aortic aneurysm on Joe Hanway, a friend who had saved his life in the Vietnam War. Hanway is not on Ted’s assigned list of patients. Aiming to quell swelling defiance of Washington’s edicts by doctors across the land, the Attorney General seeks to make an example of Dr. O’Hara, charging him with the “crime” of treating a patient without authorization.

Thus begins a gripping drama. With the action shifting from the operating room to the court room, Dr. O’Hara seeks to clear his name and challenge the system that would brand doctors as criminals. The case leads to remarkable twists and turns in the lives of Dr. O’Hara and his attorney, whose defense strategy hinges intriguingly on a pre-Civil War case of conscientious objection to the federal Fugitive Slave Law. Legal risks are the least of their worries, however, as the trial sparks a politically charged battle over government regulation of free enterprise – a battle that threatens lives.

In the vein of Robin Cook and John Grisham thrillers, the late William F. Quigley, M.D. has crafted a provocative cautionary tale rooted in real world leanings toward socialized medicine in America. With the juggernaut of Obamacare not fully realized, Hippocrates Wept dramatizes the slippery slope of government involvement in our healthcare system and reminds us that the people—even one person—can make a difference.

William F. Quigley, M.D. died in 2014 at the age of 83. Three days before he died, he happily signed a contract with Grave Distractions to publish the novel he had written in retirement from his profession as a surgeon. He knew his death was close; he hoped his novel might help to save the independence if not also the world-class expertise of the medical profession in America. This novel is the farewell address of a masterful surgeon and a hopeful romantic.

This title is available in traditional print and eBook formats at fine online retails such as Amazon, Google Books, Scribd, and Smashwords.