The Copyright Handbook: How to Protect & Use Written Works (Copyright Handbook)

Ignorance is not bliss in the information age. If you create original works, you must understand copyright law or risk becoming a skid mark on the information superhighway.

The Copyright Handbook provides you with all the information and forms you'll need to protect all types of creative expression under U.S. and international copyright law. Written in plain English, this must-have handbook tells you everything you need to know about:

*how to register a written work with the copyright office
*what works can be protected
*when and how to use a copyright notice
*copyright protection for works for hire, adaptations, new editions, electronic mail and compilations (databases and catalogs)
*rights and duration of ownership
*transfer of copyright ownership
*what constitutes infringement and how to avoid it
*how to recognize an adapted or recast work
*fair use: when and how copyrighted material can be used
*electronic publishing rights
*registration of multimedia works and multimedia rights
*how to protect written works on the Internet

The Copyright Handbook provides you with the step-by-step instructions and all the forms you need to register your copyright, as tear-outs and on CD-ROM.

Completely updated to provide the latest in law and court rulings, the 7th edition provides an all new chapter that covers taxation of copyrights, including how to deduct writing business expenses and avoid the pitfall of the IRS's hobby loss rule.

Stephen Fishman received his law degree from the University of Southern California in 1979. After stints in government and private practice, he became a full-time legal writer in 1983. He has helped write and edit over a dozen reference books for attorneys. He is the author of Software Development: A Legal Guide, Copyright Your Software, The Copyright Handbook, Consultant & Independent Contractor Agreements, Wage Slave No More: Law & Taxes for the Self-Employed, and Hiring Independent Contractors: The Employer''s Legal Guide, all published by Nolo.