Using Song Lyrics In Fiction
I hear this question often — “Can I use song lyrics in my fiction?” I completely understand. Music provides great inspiration for writers. A few lines from “In Da Club” by 50 Cent could be brilliant character insight....
Book Covers and Copyrights
At ThrillerFest this past July (as in thriller writers, not the Thriller album), a writer I met at one of the conference cocktail parties asked about copyrights and book covers. She wanted to know who owned the copyright for the...
Hey! Did you just SLAPP me?
This article could go a few different directions. Simple assault, maybe. Bedroom preferences, even. But actually, it is about Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, otherwise known as SLAPP. I hear you. This type of...
Work Made For Hire – Who owns the copyrights?
Under the Copyright Act in the U.S., the author of a creative work automatically owns the copyright. Whether you are a writer, composer, visual artist, filmmaker, or anyone who creates a copyrightable work, as a general rule you...
International Copyright Protection: What’s an author to do?
Earlier this month, our Sidebar Saturdays article, Ten Things All Authors Need To Know About Copyright (by Stephen Fishman), generated a question from a reader about international copyright protections. The reader is a...