in a novel, would you be able to refer to world events like brintney shaving her head and stuff?
May 10th, 2008 | by admin |
Heidi A asked:
Or would that be copyright?
Can i write names of shops and stuff?
Im so confuzzed!
What is copyright?
Caffeinated Content
Or would that be copyright?
Can i write names of shops and stuff?
Im so confuzzed!
What is copyright?
Caffeinated Content
3 Responses to “in a novel, would you be able to refer to world events like brintney shaving her head and stuff?”
By GQ_Wonderful on May 11, 2008 | Reply
You would be fine to write about that. You just couldn’t copy or take ideas from another person without his or her permission.
By JennaLynn on May 13, 2008 | Reply
do you seriuosly think brittney shaving her head was a world event? my advice: get out more often.
By femalegtrst on May 16, 2008 | Reply
Referring to an event like Britney shaving her head, could date your novel to 2006-2007. This may cause the novel to become dated very fast. You can write the name of shops and stuff to make a clear location, as long as you don’t give the shops a bad reputation! Most writers or publishers put a statement in the front of a book saying something like this “resemblance of any person, or company to any real person or company is purely unintentional.” This is to prevent lawsuits.
Copyright is the process of legally protecting your writing from being stolen by someone or something else. It is most of the time handled by putting a c with a circle and the date of the copyright. It can also be handled by writing Copyright 2007 by x. All rights reserved.
The other way to copyright a book, is to fill out the form from the Library of Congress, send two “best copies” and the fee and the book will be officially listed. This copyright is also used for compact disks a p with a circle for phonorecord, videos either c or p with a circle on it, photographs, art work, and software. There is also an s for sound.
The process of filing the copyright form can be complex. I think the publishers tend to handle that, but if you have a contract with a publisher you need to check to see if that is included.
When in doubt, ask a lawyer, preferably a copyright lawyer. Check the US Copyright Office site. If you are not from the US check your own countries copyright rules.
Good luck.