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Book Copyrighting: How to Copyright a Book in 5 Easy Steps

As a new author, the question “how to copyright a book” is one you must have asked. Well, if you do not have an answer to that question yet, we have got you covered.

A book might not be anything like a novel invention. Nonetheless, it is intellectual property and should be guarded properly. One way to ensure you get the best from all your investments (in time and cash) into your book is by copyrighting it. Well, it is one thing to know that your book should be copyrighted and another to know how to copyright a book.

Since you are going through this article, it is obvious you are interested in copyrighting your book. Contained in this article are tips to copyright a book in five easy steps.

What is Copyright

Before going on to learn how to copyright a book, it is important that you know exactly what copyright is all about

In its simplest form, copyright is simply a process in which individuals publicly establish that they own intellectual property. As much as you are totally responsible for creative work and no one is supposed to have an argument on ownership with you, in the absence of copyrighting the work, you have no proof that you really created the work. So, to ensure the wrong person does not lay claim to your work, you must copyright it.

Also, read 8 powerful tips to follow when writing a book

Whoever copyrights a work is free to display it, print copies publicly, and have it distributed. The implication of this is without knowing how to copyright a book, you are indirectly giving other people the opportunity to print and distribute your book without your permission. If this happens, you will be unable to charge the offender to court as you have no proof that you actually own the book. That’s not all. You might struggle to reap the financial benefits of your labour.

When looking to copyright a book, you can only do so if the book is already ready for consumption. It is impossible to copyright a fact or idea.

How to Copyright a Book

how to copyright a book

For authors that have never made an attempt at copyrighting a book, the entire process might seem difficult and one that will need some special ability to pull through. Well, regardless of what you have heard about copyrighting or the experiences that you have had, knowing how to copyright a book is not difficult.

To get it right, you simply need to follow some simple procedures. Amazingly, you do not need to look far to find out simple procedures that can help you successfully copyright a book.

Below are five steps to follow when looking to copyright a book easily.

How to Copyright a book in 5 easy steps

1. Carryout Ample Research

When looking to copyright a book, the first thing you need to do is take out time to carry out in-depth research on the property you want to copyright. The idea of carrying out extensive research before going into copyrighting a book is to ensure that the idea behind the book is not protected by copyright already. Thus is a lot more important than a lot of people assume. If you fail to get this done, you could get into trouble.

Also, read Writing Software: 10 Best Book Writing Software

The truth remains you might not have plagiarized anyone’s work while coming up with your book. However, there could be copyright that is already protecting the general idea surrounding the topic you worked on.

Going by this, before taking the step to get your book copyrighted, you must ensure related materials are not protected by copyright law. If a similar idea is already backed by copyright law, you could get into some trouble with the law.

2. You Should Have Some Copies of the Book you are looking to Copyright

When looking to copyright a book, you need to have a copy of the final draft. Copyrighting a book when you do not have copies of the final draft will not work. You should not just limit yourself to making copies of the book. It is important that you keep the original draft safe also as it might be needed.

The major reason you will need to make different copies of the book you are looking to copyright is because you will be sending a couple of copies to the copyright office. Going by this, if you lack the right number of copies, then, you just are not ready to start the copyright process. Beyond just making copies that you will send to the copyright office, you will also need copies of the completed work as proof that you are the original author of the book.

3. Get to the Copyright Office Website

If you must know how to copyright a book, you will need to know what is required of you. An easy way to know what is required of you before making attempts at copyrighting a book is to visit the US copyright website if you live in the United States. Also, if you are in the UK, you can visit the UK copyright website. For users in the EU, check the EU copyright website. For users outside of these places, you can visit your local copyright website to check for what information is needed to copyright a book.

When you visit the official site of the copyright office, you will easily spot the many requirements for copyrighting a book. Beyond knowing the requirements for copyrighting a book, you will be able to discover what rights you have as regards a copyrighted book.

Also, Read, ISBN Number: How to Get ISBN Number in 12 Steps

Copyrighting a book is important. However, it might not be a very easy process. This implies that you will need to exercise a great deal of patience.

4. Get the Right Forms and Fill Them Completely

There are some details that you will need to successfully copyright a book. To give out this information, you will need to obtain the right form.

There are various forms that you will need to fill when looking to copyright a book. These forms are basically dependent on the method you are looking to take advantage of in registering your book.

The various forms you will need to fill when copyrighting your book are easy to fill. They are straightforward and make spaces for information such as date of publication, year of completion, book title, and author details.

5. Submit the Form alongside Copies of Your Book and Expect an Approval

This is the next stage after filling the forms properly. You need to submit it. When submitting the application, ensure it is submitted with some copies of your book. You should also pay the fees required. After doing this, you will need to wait for feedback from the office in charge of copyright.

Also, read  16 Genuine Websites to Hire a Book Editor

Although there is no guarantee of positive feedback. If your copyright request gets granted, the copyright office will send you a copyright certificate. You will get this certificate in your mail.

While some people might be patency to wait for their book to get properly copyrighted before going in to publish it, not everyone has this patience. If you are not patient enough to wait for your book to get copyrighted, it is okay if you go ahead to publish your book while waiting for it to be copyrighted. If you make up your mind on publishing the book when your book is yet to be copyrighted, you have to make it clear that its copyright is pending.

6. Cost of Copyrighting a Book

If you have any plans of copyrighting a book, it is not enough to know how to copyright a book. It is important that you know exactly how much it will cost you to copyright the book. With this, if you are not ready to copyright the book, you can include it in your budget.

The cost of copyrighting a book varies from country to country and region to region. Additionally, the type of work you are looking to register is a major determinant of how much you will need to pay for copyrighting your book.

When a book has one author and was not designed to be hired, it will cost $45 to copyright it. Additionally, books in other categories will cost $55 to be copyrighted. If you are looking to get registered on paper, then you will need to pay a fee of $85. Going by this, if you are on a tight budget but are bent on getting your book copyrighted, you might have to forget about getting it registered on paper.

 What is the Importance of Copyrighting a Book?

There are several reasons every author should know how to copyright a book. Top among them is it is a proof that you are the actual writer of the book. With this, in a case of copyright infringement, you can have a strong case. When your book is copyrighted, it becomes impossible for a bookstore to print your books and sell them for profit. That’s not all. When your book is copyrighted, other authors will be careful about plagiarizing it.

Also, read Self-Publishing a Book: 18 Powerful Steps to Becoming a Best Seller Author

Although it is possible to lay a form of claim to your book even when it is not copyrighted, you will need to make extreme efforts to prove that you are actually the owner of intellectual property. However, with the right intellectual registration, proving you actually wrote a book becomes really easy.

The Takeaway

So here we have it. Copyrighting a book is a lot easier than lots of people assume. All you really need to do is to follow the tips on how to copyright a book in this article.

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BENEDICT BONNY

Hi, I'm Benedict. The founder of Bennyselfpublishing Academy. A platform designed to teach people how to write and publish their books online and offline from the comfort of their homes. When I am not writing, I am outside playing football or watching my favorite team Chelsea play.

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