LisaB; If you have a question for our guest, please type a ? 

LisaB; If you have a comment to make, please type a ! 

LisaB; I'll call on people in the order they type in. 

LisaB; Whenever you are finished with what you have to say, question or comment, please type a /. 

LisaB; Our guest tonight is attorney Ivan Hoffman, who specializes in a lot of writer related law issues as I outlined in my announcements 

LisaB; Would you like to say anything before we start, Ivan? 

ivan; welcome all/ 

LisaB; Okay! If any one has a question, we'll get started!/ 

frenchfoodADM; ? 

LisaB; go ahead Anne. 

frenchfoodADM; I have been writing for several different places and sometimes they ask for an invoice 

frenchfoodADM; is there a standard for these? 

frenchfoodADM I'm confused, I don't know what they want really 

LisaB; Go ahead, Ivan. / 

ivan; Any "invoice" is actually a contract and the writer should include not merely the price of the work but a statement about what rights are being transferred, licensed and retained. This should all be prepared in advance and should be included in each invoice. There's an article on my site on a related issue called "Are Your Invoices Legally Sufficient?" Click on "Articles for Writers and Publishers." 

frenchfoodADM; I never included anything about rights, thanks, I'll have to read that/ 

LisaB; I have the URL for Ivan's site and will send it out again to the list so you can check the article./ 

barefoot; it is also on the homepage of momwriters now/ 

frenchfoodADM; ? 

LisaB; Ivan, a question from someone who couldn't come tonight was about copyrights of work. Is it true that whatever you write is automatically copyrighted, and if so, how is that?/ 

ivan; Whatever you write that is original with you and is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression" such as in writing, email etc. is copyrightable and is deemed copyrighted without more. Registration is very important but is not mandatory. 

ivan; There is another article called "Do I Need to Register My Copyrights?" you should read. 

barefoot; ? 

LisaB; She added that she's heard about mailing yourself a copy of the work and leaving it unopened for the postal mark to verify when it was written...she wanted to know if that is adequate proof?/ 

ivan; this "poor man's [sorry...not my term] copyright is worthless. The registration process confers very important rights. It's only $30.00. 

LisaB; Is that per item? 

ivan; It is per form. You can copyright individual items separately or, under certain circumstances, as a compliation.

LisaB; I see... is that mainly for larger works, though, such as novels or non-fiction books? I can't see doing that for individual articles? 

ivan; Well, it's a choice you make. For instance, my web site, which contains all my writing, is copyrighted as a web site, as a whole. 

LisaB; Okay, thanks! Karen, go ahead with your question... 

barefoot; Lisa, those questions were what I wondered as well, it is important info to know, Ivan did it only cost $30 to copyright the whole site and what happens when you update it? 

ivan; 30.00 for the registration of the web site. And periodically I will submit a new registration covering additional material. 

barefoot; does your site tell where to register ? 

ivan; My site doesn't. But you can find the US Copyright Office web site and it will. 

frenchfoodADM; ? 

LisaB; Thanks, Ivan. Just want to pop in and let people who recently joined the chat know they can type ? if they have a question and ! if the have a comment and I'll call on you in order! :) Type / when you are finished. 

LisaB; Anne, go ahead./ 

frenchfoodADM; do you find many writer's having problems with work being lifted off websites? 

frenchfoodADM; here at About.com we've found some of our work on other websites, they take care of it right away of course, but what about independent authors? 

frenchfoodADM; ./ 

ivan; Actually, taking other people's material is easier on line but you can at least watermark your work so that if you search with certain software, you can find everywhere where that watermark appears so it is easier to find than if someone took your work off line. 

LisaB; I've never heard of that...can you explain "watermarking" a little bit?/ 

frenchfoodADM; I always thought watermarking was just for photos/ 

ivan; It's a technological imprint that can be attached to graphics, text, music etc. that can be located by a search. Music of course presents its own set of issues and there are methods now in use to prevent it's theft on line. 

LisaB; That's an interesting concept...I'll have to look into that. 

LisaB; If you do find someone has lifted your work, what is the legal recourse you can take?/ 

ivan; That's where the benefits of registration come in. If someone takes your registered copyrights (at least those that qualify in terms of dates of registration), you can get statutory damages plus attorneys fees if you sue without having to prove actual damages. It's a good leverage for settlement. 

LisaB; So that is where having registered copyrights come into play then?/ 

ivan; yep 

LisaB; Okay...thanks. Welcome to all newcomers ...if you have questions, please type ? and I'll call on you! :) 

ivan; ? 

LisaB; yes, Ivan? 

ivan; Are you all moms and writers?

barefoot: ayuh 

LisaB; About 99% of us are. We have one man on the list and a couple women who are not moms./ 

frenchfoodADM; oui 

ivan; how many of you have been published? articles, books,online etc. 

serena; ? 

Jerri; More than half, and there are over 460 people on the list. 

LisaB; I've been publishing online magazine articles for the past 1 1/2 years...some print stuff too, but mainly
online./ 

frenchfoodADM; articles in print and online and a weekly column in my local newspaper 

serena; I have articles in print and online and do pr work as well 

Jerri; ? 

LisaB; Serena, go ahead with your question.../ serena If I sell a reprint, should I be giving them my original copy or the edited version that appeared in print? 

ivan; excellent. How are you using the net? I'm a very big supporter of the net. It has changed my life. I go all over teaching about Internet law and speak to a lot of writers and publishers. 

ivan; Response to Serena: What they are reprinting is what was printed, I assume. So itwould be what appeared. 

frenchfoodADM; ! 

serena; But, if an editor made changes, wouldn't they own the copyright to those changes? 

ivan; Hey...yet another article. This one's called "The Book EditorAgreement." 

LisaB; For those of you who just came, Ivan has a number of articles on his site that pertain to some of these issues. / 

barefoot; ! 

LisaB; I'll send out the URL to the site later, and Karen has it on the momwriters site as well./ 

LisaB; Jerri...go ahead./ 

Jerri; Hi! Sorry I'm late. Just wondering what topics have been covered so I don't repeat questions. So Sorry! 

LisaB; Um..well, if you have a question, just go ahead and ask...if it is a repeat, we'll let you know, okay? :)/ 

Jerri; kk...Then, Ivan, if you have a work for hire agreement, and an article that is assigned gets killed, are you still entitled to the full fee for the article? 

LisaB; Go ahead, Ivan./ 

ivan; it depends upon the terms of the agreement. merely saying something is a work made for hire does not answer your question. you still have to negotiate *all* the terms of the agreement. 

LisaB; So a kill fee would have to be spelled out then in the original agreement?/ 

ivan; it should be. along with other terms. Jerri ? 

LisaB; Thanks...Anne, go ahead with your comment./ 

frenchfoodADM; I'm producing a community tv show about positive uses of the internet, a show and tell sort of thing as a companion to my weekly column, I love the net! 

RachelG; Hello, everyone. First time here, baby is being ok for now, but watch out! 

frenchfoodADM; I'm referring to Ivan's question about what we do on the net 

frenchfoodADM; ./ 

Chomi; ? 

LisaB; Karen...go ahead with your comment./ 

barefoot; Ivan - you asked about us using the net - I am the one who is facing the domain name dispute - I think the net is a great place for writing as it opens a whole new world for us to express ourselves 

LisaB; I love writing on the net too...it opens so many doors. :)/ 

LisaB; Questions from any recent arrivals to the chat?/ 

Chomi; If I'm writing under a pen-name/alias on the 'net and use the statement "copyright 2000 alias" does that disallow me from using that same article/short story in print publication in my real name, w/ a copyright? 

LisaB; Good question, Chomi! Ivan?/ 

ivan; Again...an article. "Electronic Publishing and the Potential Loss of First Serial Rights." The alias has nothing to do with this issue. It is the article's contents that matter. 

LisaB; How's that, Ivan? Could you elaborate a little bit?/ 

LisaB; That sounds like a timely article for us , by the way, as "rights" is a constant issue on momwriters./ 

Chomi; I don't understand....In my case I've been approached by an e-publisher for something written under my pen-name/nick on the'net...but I primarily want to see it in print, and am wondering how that would affect my consideration of this e-pub offer. 

ivan; Got to watch those apostrophes...If you published on the net, the question is whether you can still offer first serial rights to a print publisher or even can you make a book deal. And the answer is that you should simply disclose that the piece appeared on the net and leave it up to the negotiation to handle it. 

ivan; Again, I cannot imagine that the pen name is the issue. You can use whatever name you like but you must make it clear that the article has already appeared. It is part of an open negotiation. 

ivan; More: in any deal, whether it's for on or off line, you simply *must* be very clear what rights are being
granted. 

Chomi; So it is the material not the name/copyright that is impt when it comes to rights. 

LisaB; Do you have any input as to what is reasonable for an online publication to ask for as far as rights are
concerned? Especially for the lower paying markets? / 

Chomi; I see. Thank you. 

ivan; My articles are syndicated all over the net by iSyndicate. I really don't know what they are asking. But fees are fairly nominal at this point. The net is about marketing, not selling, right now. 

LisaB; I see...okay. 

LisaB; Well, our hour is just about up. I'd just like to thank Ivan for his time tonight and for everyone's
participation! :) 

barefoot; Thank you Ivan!! 

ivan; you're entirely welcome. thanks for the opportunity. night all. 

Jerri; Thank you Ivan! SOrry I was late. 

frenchfoodADM; yes, thank you Ivan, I appreciate it very much 

Chomi; Thank you Ivan!