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How to Get a Copyright for a Nonfiction Book in 4 Easy Steps

June 24, 2019 by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

How to Get a Copyright

If you want to learn how to get a copyright for your nonfiction book, follow the four simple steps in this article for peace of mind.

Registering your book’s copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office is the safest way to defend your copyright ownership in a court of law, especially if you want to sue a person or an entity for infringement.

Although copyright is automatically assigned to the owner of a creative work by the mere act of creation, in the U.S. you can’t sue for infringement in a court of law unless you have a copyright certificate from the U.S. Copyright Office to prove your authorship.

The registration costs are very reasonable and the process quite straight forward, although if you want to make sure that your application is error free, you can always enlist the help of a copyright attorney to file the application on your behalf.

Step 1: Determine Your Eligibility

The eligibility for copyrighting your nonfiction book is quite easy to meet. To be eligible, you need to be:

The legitimate author of your book. In other words, you have either written the book yourself or you hired a professional writer or a ghostwriter to do it on your behalf. If you used the latter, make sure that your agreement stipulates clearly that your book is a work for hire and that you’re the sole owner of the book’s copyright.
Your book must be in a “fixed” medium of expression (such as a digital file or a printed manuscript).

It’s as simple as that. Now, just in case your copyright goes into litigation at any point in the future, make sure that you keep all the evidence of your authorship, such as notes, mind maps, any charts, research, draft manuscripts, computer files, email communications, etc.

In short, don’t throw anything away when you’re done, don’t recycle any paper with information about your book and keep backups of all book-related files on a USB stick.

Step 2: Add a Copyright Page to Your Book

Next, add a copyright page on the back of your title page in the front matter of your book. This page must include:

A copyright notification (e.g. Copyright © <year> by <copyright owner, e.g. your name, your company name, etc.>).
Your publisher’s name and address. If you are self-publishing, then you can create a publisher imprint, or use your business as the publisher. If you don’t want to include a physical street address, you can use a P.O. Box instead.
Your book’s edition followed by the date of publication – Month and year will suffice (e.g. First Edition, September 2019).
The book’s print run if applicable (e.g. first printing, second printing, etc.).
A statement of rights (e.g. “All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, or through any information browsing, storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.”)
Your book’s Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication data. To request this information as a self-published author, visit: https://locexternal.service-now.com/auth.
Permissions from other copyrighted works, if applicable (e.g. if you’re quoting a poem from another author in your book, you must first obtain their permission in writing and post it on this page).
Legal disclaimers, if applicable. You’ll need to consult with an attorney to obtain the appropriate text for your nonfiction book, especially if it’s a legal requirement by a government agency (e.g. if you offer investment advice, the SEC may require that you show one or more disclaimers).

Step 3: File to Register Your Copyright

Now it’s time to file your application for copyright registration with the U.S. copyright office. The process is quite simple and it can be done online by visiting www.copyright.gov or by mailing Form TX (downloadable from the same website).

To learn about the different fees that apply to copyright registrations, read this article: What’s the Copyright Cost for a Nonfiction Book?

To learn the steps to follow to register your book online, read this article: How to Copyright a Book: A Guide for Nonfiction Authors.

Step 4: Mail Your Book to The U.S. Copyright Office

Once you’ve completed your registration, you’ll need to mail two copies of your book to fulfill the U.S. Library of Congress mandatory deposit requirement to:

Library of Congress

Attn: 407 Deposits

101 Independence Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20559-6600

Next Steps

If you want to make 100% sure there are no filing errors that could compromise your claim to copyright ownership in the future, it’s better to consult with a copyright attorney prior to filing – they could either check your form or complete it and file it on your behalf.

You’ve worked so hard to create your nonfiction book, and a formal registration with the U.S. Copyright office will guarantee that your authorship is never brought into question.

Ben

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or a specific need that I can help you address – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to just to generate additional leads for their businesses.

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Grow Your Business Writing a Nonfiction Book

Write Your Own Book and Become an Expert – 11 Reasons Why You Should

Bennett R. Coles is an award-winning author of 6 books published through Harper Collins (NY) and Titan Publishing Group (UK). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press and the founder/CEO of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium author services specifically designed for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writer coaching, ghostwriting, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, printing, distribution and marketing.

What’s the Copyright Cost for a Nonfiction Book?

June 23, 2019 by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

The copyright cost for a nonfiction book depends of the type of application that you need to file. In this article, you’ll learn the different fees based on your personal circumstances. The three most typical copyright application scenarios are:

1) Single Application

The single application is the most cost-effective way to register your nonfiction book, provided that you do it electronically at www.copyright.gov. The Single Application cost is $35 (available online only).

Now, there are some restrictions. In order to qualify for this low registration fee, you must:

Be the only author listed on the copyright registration form. (If you’re co-authoring your book you’ll have to file a standard application instead)
Register a single work. ( For example, a very large book split into three volumes is not considered a single work.)
Be the sole claimant. (If you’re sharing your copyright ownership with another person or entity, you’ll have to file a standard application.)
Write the book yourself. (If you’re hiring a professional writer or a ghostwriter to create the book on your behalf you’ll still be considered the copyright owner, but you’ll have to file a standard application instead).

2) Standard Application

If your copyright registration doesn’t qualify for the Single Application fee (see above requirements), then you must use the Standard Application. The cost is $55 (available online only).

3) Special Cases

Paper Applications: If you don’t want to file online, you can mail a completed Form TX (also referred to as the Literary Form) to:

Library of Congress

U.S. Copyright Office-TX

101 Independence Avenue SE

Washington, DC 20559-6000

This form can be downloaded and printed from www.copyright.gov. The fee for paper filing is $85 and must be paid via check or money order payable to “U.S. Copyright Office.”

Expedited Application: The regular application process can take several months to complete.

Your work will be dated as registered as soon as the U.S. Copyright office receives your application. However, your copyright certificate may take up to a year to be mailed to you (sometimes longer depending on the backlog of applications).

If you need to expedite the copyright registration process, you can do so by paying the expedited fee of $800.

In this case you’ll be mailed your copyright certificate in approximately one week (e.g. you’re suing someone for infringement and you need your certificate asap for the legal proceedings).

Lawyer Application: If you would rather have a lawyer complete and submit your copyright application form to ensure no filing mistakes, expect to pay around $200-$500 in legal fees plus the cost of filing and any other disbursements.

Next Steps

If you’d like to learn more about the copyright registration process, read my companion article entitled: How to Copyright a Book: A Guide for Nonfiction Authors.

Ben

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

How to Write a Compelling Nonfiction Book in 12 Steps: A Must-Read Guide for Business Owners

How to Grow Your Business Writing a Nonfiction Book

Write Your Own Book and Become an Expert – 11 Reasons Why You Should

How to Copyright a Book: A Guide for Nonfiction Authors

June 22, 2019 by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

How to Copyright a Book

In this article, you’ll learn how to copyright a book with the U.S. Copyright Office. As the writer of an original work of nonfiction, you want to make sure that the authorship of your intellectual property is well protected.

Copyright registration will allow you to have a solid avenue to go after infringers in a court of law. For the relatively low cost of registration this is really a no-brainer for authors.

(Disclosure: I’m not an attorney, so I recommended that you consult with one in matters related to copyright as well as disclaimers that may be legally required to appear in your nonfiction book, depending on your subject matter).

What Protections Does Copyright Afford Nonfiction Books?

Your nonfiction book, in particular if you’re writing a book that documents your expertise and offers unique solutions to a target audience, will incorporate many of your ideas, methods, procedures, concepts and so on.

While these aren’t protected by copyright themselves (this kind of intellectual property may require a patent), your explanation, illustration and description of them is subject to copyright.

As a simple example, if you’re copyrighting a cookbook, your lists of ingredients are not subject to copyright protection, however the text containing your preparation and cooking instructions is.

The same applies to any research based on information that you’ve collected. The information itself is not copyrightable, but your sorting methodology, your analysis and your conclusions are.

Keep in mind that if your book contains any type of branding information or names that you’ve coined as part of your solution (e.g. “The 35-Minute Workout,” or “The Anxiety-Free Smoke Cessation Technique”), those are not copyrightable either. In this case, the vehicle to protect them is a trademark.

What Specific Rights Do I Gain by Copyrighting My Book?

By copyrighting your book, you’ll be granted the following rights:

Exclusive right for making copies of your book. Now, you may grant third parties permission to reproduce your work in part of in whole for a limited time and/or a limited quantity in exchange for compensation.
Exclusive right to distribute your book. Here too you may grant third parties permission to distribute your work on your behalf through a mutually beneficial financial arrangement.
Exclusive right to create derivative works from your book, such as workbooks, abridged audio versions, etc. Since derivative works also include translations, you may grant others permission to translate your book to a foreign language and to distribute it in that market through a mutually beneficial financial arrangement.

Do I Need to Register My Copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office?

Technically, you’re not required to register your copyright with the government agency to be protected since, as the book’s author, you own the copyright to your work the moment it’s written.

However, if someone else claims to have written a book extremely similar to yours at the same time and you want to sue for infringement, you would have to prove that they read your book before writing theirs – this is extremely difficult to do.

A much safer approach is to register your book with the U.S. Copyright Office. Even though it costs some money ($35 for online registrations for a single original title and $85 for paper registrations), it’s money well spent.

With a registered copyright, you can assert your copyright starting from the official date of registration, which allows you file a claim for infringement without having to prove others’ prior knowledge of your work. Also, your registration becomes part of the public record.

What are the Criteria for Copyrighting a Nonfiction Book?

In order to copyright your nonfiction book:

You must be the author of an original work.
The original work must be contained in a tangible medium of expression.

Note: Copyright protection in the U.S. covers the life of the author plus 70 years but there are some exceptions for works made for hire, so you may want to consult with the U.S. Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov for full details).

What Messaging Do I Need in My Book’s Copyright Page?

In addition to your copyright registration, you need to include a well-written copyright page in the front matter of your book.

In this page, you’ll want to include your copyright notice, your publisher’s name and address (this could be your business’s address or a P.O. Box if self-published), the book’s edition, date of publication and print run, a statement of rights, cataloguing in publication data, any permissions from other copyright holders, and a number of disclaimers.

Copyright Page with Standard Disclaimer

A standard copyright page may look like this:

Published by XYZ, 1234 ABC Ave. P.O. Box 555, City, State, Zip Code

First Edition, 2019

First Printing

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, or through any information browsing, storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

<Cataloguing data goes here>

Permissions (if any) go here

Copyright Page with Additional Disclaimers

If your nonfiction book provides health, financial, fitness or other type of advice that may contain forward looking information or that may result in a negative outcome for the reader if not followed properly, you’ll need to add separate disclaimers.

The nature of these disclaimers goes beyond the scope of this article, but suffice it to say, if you provide investment advice you may want to check with your attorney to see if there are any SEC disclaimer requirements that may be applicable to the information in your book.

The same goes for health, fitness, moneymaking and other type of advice that is directed at consumers. Check with your attorney to see if there are any FTC requirements you’ll need to comply with.

As a reference, here are some basic disclaimers for nonfiction books that provide advice:

“Although this publication is designed to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered, the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, omissions, or any other inconsistencies herein. This publication is meant as a source of valuable information for the reader, however it is not meant as a replacement for direct expert assistance. If such level of assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.”

If you show case studies you might want to include the following statement:

“Unless otherwise indicated, all the characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.”

How Do I Register My Book with the U.S. Copyright Office?

The easiest and most-cost-effective way to register your copyright is to do it online by visiting: www.copyright.gov.

Once there, click on Literary Works and after the page loads click on Register a Literary Work.

Then select New User and create an account. Once your account is set up, click on Copyright Registration, then click on Register A New Claim and finally click on Start Registration and complete the required fields.

Finally, pay the copyright fee and either upload or mail in your work, depending on the on-screen instructions.

Next Steps

You’ve worked really hard on your nonfiction book, and you want to make sure that your authorship is copyright protected. But you also want to make sure that you’re personally protected as well.

Before you publish your book, enlist the help of your attorney to help you craft the right disclaimers for your copyright page, since there may be consumer legislation that applies to your subject matter.

Good luck!

Ben

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