Books to Film: The Option Versus The Shopping Agreement
Most writers dream about their book becoming a movie. It’s exciting to think about seeing our creative endeavors on the big screen or television. Plus, who doesn’t like receiving more money? But adapting a book into a movie is a...
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...
Happy Labor Day – Get Your Grill On!
Labor Day celebrates the contribution of workers to our economy. We celebrate it by not working. Enjoy the bar-b-que. Vacation calories don’t count. Photo Credit: candrews | Visualhunt | CC BY-NC-ND