posted
May I ask why every one of these "want to read my story?" or "please critique my story" topic starters send they're stories instead of just posting them? Is it for privacy reasons (in other words, you don't want just anybody to read it because you think of it as something personal) or does it have to do with a copyright law, or what? I'm just wondering.
posted
Well, from the point of view of copyright law, the INSTANT you post it on an Internet forum, it's pretty much unpublishable.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
But the same thing wouldn't be true if you sent it to four or five people, who could just as easily send it to four or five other people or post it on a messageboard? (I'm just asking, not trying to prove a point. I really don't know jack about copyright laws.)
posted
Perhaps, actually, if it reached a certain critical mass. Basically, as I understand it, publication on an Internet forum is considered capital-P "publication" by most publishers nowadays, who are therefore reluctant to touch the story thereafter.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
The whole deal with copyright is that until you file for it, your not protected. It only falls under the classification of Intelectual Property. Which only affords limited protection.
Posts: 1660 | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
So basically you're saying that if I post something on Hatrack, or email something, it should be something that I don't intend on ever publishing, right? Will somebody who takes my works and tries to publish it be breaking the law, or is the real risk that they won't be?
I don't post my stories here because I know the Grammar Nazi's would tear it apart and make me feel like an idiot.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
On the first question I would say yes, although don't take that as the absolute truth. My experience is solely with Video and Music copyrights. The written word is a completely different beast.
The second question, it's Intellectual Property and, as I understand it, it's like any other form of property. If a person steals it, it's theft, and the person can be prosecuted. The best way of proving that you had the story first, is to do like you were filing a patent. Print a copy of it, sign and date it and have another person (preferably out of the loop) do the same. That keeps the lawyers out of your pocket.
posted
In a few weeks I'm going to have a Very Long Story that I will be humbly requesting for readers for. But the point of this post is: Posting it in a thread would be completely ridiculous.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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