At 03:54 AM 6/8/96 -0600, Neill Walker wrote:
| From: White Wolf <ranma@tendo-dojo.ranma.net>
| Date: June 8, 1996 3:11 AM
| > | From: AnimeFilm@aol.com
| > | To: fanfic@fanfic.com
| > | Subject: [FFML] [Announcement] Fan fiction submissions wanted!
| > | Date: June 6, 1996 7:29 PM
|
| I removed and blocked this address. Personally, I have NO interest in
| releasing my work, because of copyright bullshit.
I don't know about the US, but here in Canada, any work, published or
not, is automatically copyrighted. So if you ever find something you
wrote in a magazine or newspaper (or even if an individual plaigerized
your work) that was printed without permission, you can take the
publisher or individual to court!! Pretty handy, if you ask me.
As I said, this goes only for Canada, so I'm sometimes pretty careless
about things I write, as it is supposedly protected under law. Cool,
huh?
Canadian copyright law (may be the same for the US, don't know) also
requires the copyright owner to *prove* that he owns it. Therefore if you do
not have any kind of official record of your story on hand at said court
trial, the copyright infringer can claim ownership. In Canada (might be
simliar in
the US) you can obtain an official record of proof of ownership a few ways.
Taken from "The Business of Writing" by Dyanne Rivers:
"The easiest and least expensive is to place your manuscript in a sealed
envelope, and send it to yourself by registered mail. When you recieve it
DO NOT OPEN IT. Leave the seal intact and file it in a safe place, along
with the registration reciepts. In the unlikely event that you end up in
court fighting a copyright battle, the envelope must be opened before the
judge."
"For a fee, you can also register a work with the federal government through
the copyright office of the Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada. However,
going to this trouble and expense may be of limited use because this office
doesn't keep a copy of your manuscript. If you wish to go ahead
nevertheless, contact the Copyright Office and Industrial Design Branch,
Place du Portage, Tower 1, Hull, Quebec K1A 0C9."
There is also an address for copyrighting scripts if anyone wants it (send
me an email).
I recommend the "sealed envelope" method for anyone who wants some peace of
mind. While the likelyhood of someone infringing your copyright is very
rare, it is an easy enough process to follow for each work you create that
will put any concerns to rest. After all, it isn't the *idea* that is
copyrighted, it is the *expression* of that idea that is protected. In other
words, if you write a book about how to build a rocket, the book is
protected, but anyone can read your book and then go build that rocket, or
use the ideas in the instructions to write a book on building rockets. Ideas
themselves aren't covered by copyright. As the author of "The Business of
Writing" goes on to say, "Most
[ideas] are simply recycled variations on universal themes that have been
explored thousands of times. It's the way we express those ideas that makes
our work distinctive and, therefore, subject to copyright."
Neill also wrote:
Resent-Date: Sat, 8 Jun 1996 06:30:34 -0400
From: "Neill Walker" <walkersp@oanet.com>
To: <fanfic@fanfic.com>
Subject: Re: [FFML] [Announcement] Fan fiction submissions wanted!
Date: Sat, 8 Jun 1996 04:01:41 -0600
By sending it to them, without guarantee of payment, you agree to give
them distribution rights and waive your copyright... But they have to
send you notice of this in advance. If they've made a written agreement
to pay you IF the fic is used, then you waive your copyright at the time
of payment. This company informally stated that $100 or so would be
paid if the fic was published, so they aren't REQUIRED to pay you unless
you get a legal document. If they post it at a later date, you're still
entitled to the money. Once you accept payment, it's theirs.
The freelance writer's first rule is NEVER GIVE UP YOUR COPYRIGHT.
Any aspiring *freelance* author of original works should be aware that you
do not *have* to waive your copyrights at any time. As a freelance writer,
you in effect, should make it clear in any contract you sign FOR AN ORIGINAL
WORK that you are granting *only* a licence to a publisher to use your
copyright under specific conditions, rather than selling it outright. Then,
if the publisher or someone else wants to reprint or adapt all or even a
portion of your work, you can expect to be compensated for your work.
So how can Nippon Heroes require that you waive your rights?
The exception to the rule occurs when submitting a story that uses copyright
protected characters and idea expressions. If you wish to submit an
anime-based story to a fanzine that uses characters from Ranma, BGC, Oh! My
Goddess etc., you should be aware that your copyright to the expression of
ideas in the story is "linked" to the copyright of the characters. Unless
you were to rewrite the story with original characters and settings, your
copyright to an anime-based fanfic is never entirely yours.
As an example, the writer's guidelines posted by TSR for their Dragon
magazine (a Dungeons & Dragons publication that accepts fan-fiction) states
that they must purchase ALL RIGHTS to any story that is submitted "that
focuses on and uses TSR's products. You must agree to sell us all rights to
such a manuscript before we can make plans to print it."
Nippon Heroes has probably (I have not checked) obtained an annual blanket
licence that allows them to publish fanfiction that uses copyright protected
anime-based characters and/or settings. Here are their guidelines for Fan
Fiction:
----------
"Submissions of fan fiction (anime related short stories based on original or
known characters) are being accepted. We are looking for short stories
between 2,500 and 5,000 words, with exceptional quality in writing skill,
character integrity and story telling. All stories must have an ending. NO
SERIES or SEQUELS will be permitted. Ten (10) free copies of the published
issue and a 'NIPPON HEROES' t-shirt are given for accepted work. We
automatically acknowledge the original owners of the characters used as well
as place a disclaimer on every 'fan-fictional' work."
----------
Their "automatic acknowledgement of the original owners of the characters"
is probably the blanket licence. Therefore, if you wish to send them your
anime fanfic then the exception to the "first rule" applies; if Nippon
Heroes were to agree to pay you for your anime fanfiction work, you would
have to sell all of your rights to your story to them. If this isn't a
problem, and the guidelines that Neill has reiterated seem acceptable to
you, then by all means send in your story. Seeing a work published is a
gratifying and confidence building experience. Just be aware that this is an
exception to the rule, due to the publication you are submitting your work
to, and the characters you are
using.
Most magazines that accept freelance fiction material will usually have
Writer's Guidelines that you can mail away for. These are definitely
recommended reading for authors who have something they want to submit.
First impressions are very important to publishers so be sure your story is
properly formatted and presentable. It could easily make the difference
between acceptance and getting a form letter back.
Anyone wishing to learn the basics on what they need to know to write
professionally in Canada (many good ideas for writers regardless of where
they live actually) should check out the book I quoted from earlier.
The ISBN number is:
0-07-551638-1
Rivers, Dyanne
The Business of Writing: A guide for Canadian Writers and Editors
Panda
-----------------------------------
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"The Dark Traveler"
"The Dragon's Tower"
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