What Constitutes Copyright?
By now, you’ve probably read the news reports regarding the current copyright infringement trial against Random House, alleging that The DaVinci Code author Dan Brown modeled his novel too closely on a book published in 1982. This case brings up several important issues for all authors to contemplate:
- Should copyright infringement involve just the misappropriation of words or should reusing themes and ideas count as well?
- If so, how do we distinguish what constitutes misuse of themes and ideas, clearly a gray area for many?
- Most importantly, do you know enough about copyright law to lessen your risk for such problems? Some good books on this topic include Every Writer’s Guide to Copyright and Publishing Law by Ellen M. Kozak and Author Law A to Z: A Desktop Guide to Writers’ Right and Responsibilities by Sallie Randolph.
Create a Podcast and Get Some Press
You probably know by now that I think podcasting is a great online book promotion tool. If you’ve considered distributing an online press release to promote your podcast (and book, of course), February is a great month to do so.
PRWeb, the low-cost online press distribution service, has declared February 2006 Podcast Month. Their editors will offer up to five podcast-related releases a day a free upgrade to their $200 service. To increase your chances of being chosen for the free upgrade, you can nominate your news release for selection in the program. PRWeb offers staggered pricing (free, for a basic release) based on the services and coverage you choose.
More on creating a good search engine optimized release coming soon …
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About the Author
I'm a freelance writer and author specializing in business technology.
