Today’s content creators must be savvy about plagiarism and copyright infringement.
Writers, authors, editors, bloggers, web designers, and other creatives who are reproducing, distributing, performing, publicly displaying (as on a web page) a work or building a work based on any part of an another’s work have an obligation to avoid plagiarism and copyright infringement.
Our mission is to inform, educate, and consult with creatives to help them avoid inadvertently breaking copyright laws.
Copyright clearance, or getting permission, ideally occurs while the new work is being created. Consulting on copyright issues may occur when the new work is being marketed, advertised, and promoted. Consulting services may also be needed after the new work gets into public distribution to protect it from misuse and/or abuse. Training is a viable option for some people. we can either do the work for you or we can teach you how to do it yourself.
Copyright Clearance
If you are new to publishing, it is critical that you learn all you can about how to publish a book. In the early stages of creating your new work you must pay careful attention to copyright issues regarding other people’s content you may want to incorporate in your work.
Copyright clearance includes the identification of text, photographs, song lyrics, graphs, illustrations, and other materials that may be in the public domain, those that may be considered fair use, and those that require copyright clearance. It is our job to identify the copyright owner and secure permission to use the content in the manner you propose.
We usually start the conversation with what is copyright and quickly go into specifics on questions such as the following.
- What is copyright infringement?
- Why is it important to avoid plagiarism?
- How can I find out if something is in the public domain?
- What is copyright fair use and what is copyright infringement?
- How do I obtain a license and permission to use an image I found on the Internet?
- How do I copyright my book?
- What should I do if I discover infringement of copyrights to my works?
- “Am I breaking copyright laws if I …?”
- “Will I commit a rights infringement if I …?”
Fortunately, a lot of these questions have been answered in considerable detail. If you came to our website looking for answers, start with Step 1 below. If you have a situation that needs to be addressed immediately, go to Step 3 – Initial Consultation.
Step 1: Free download.
Download the “Myths” excerpt taken from our guidebook Copyright Clearance for Creatives: A guide for independent publishers and their support providers to see if your question has been addressed. If your question was not addressed, go to Step 2 below.
Step 2: Acquire reference guidebook.
Copyright Clearance for Creatives focuses on intellectual property and copyright from a permissions acquisition perspective. It includes topics such as ~
- copyright legislation
- copyright licensing
- copyright law infringement
- copyright infringement on the Internet
- plagiarism and how to avoid it
- copyright infringement consequences
- copyright law fair use
- public domain
Purchase the full-color paperback version and/or a PDF ebook version of Copyright Clearance for Creatives: A Guide for Independent Publishers and their support providers directly from the publisher. It typically ships within 48 hours. A copy of this guidebook is provided gratis as part of our initial consultation (Step 3 below) to gain a better understanding of the nature and scope of your situation, timeframe, circumstances, et cetera.
The Kindle ebook format is available on Amazon.com and the ePub version is available at Barnes & Noble for the Nook, iPad, Sony, Kobo, and other ereaders. The ePub version also is available through Smashwords, where libraries will receive a substantial discount.
Step 3: Manuscript review.
We are available to review manuscripts for copyright issues. The review fee varies with manuscript length, the content, the complexity of works cited and/or used, information known about the outside works, and other variables. After determining which copyrighted items require permission, we will provide an estimate of our fee to identify the copyright owner(s), to help you negotiate owner’s permissions fees, and to secure permission to use the copyrighted materials.
The next step is up to you: simply contact us about your project.
Our consulting services are provided on an hourly “as needed” basis or complete project basis. Consultation typically starts with an assessment of the potential client’s situation regarding the use of other people’s content in their works.
For writers with a single item in the works, this process usually starts with an hour for the initial conversation and follow up research to clarify issues and identify a course of action. We will review our findings with the client and, together, we will determine the potential scope of an additional consultation that is needed. The client decides how many hours, if any, of consultation is needed. We will develop a formal agreement with terms and conditions for any consultation that exceeds five (5) hours of consultation.
When you are ready to schedule your consultation, select either 30 minutes, one hour, or two hours below and click the “Add to Cart” button to transact the payment through PayPal. Please note that this action will take you to the PayPal website. After you have completed the PayPal transaction, contact us to schedule your consultation.
After you have completed the PayPal transaction, contact us to schedule your consultation. You will receive a free copy of Copyright Clearance for Creatives: A guide for independent publishers and their support providers, which will provide a common point of reference during our discussions about your copyright situation.
Training
Presentations
Joyce and Dan Miller regularly make presentations on copyright basics at writers and publishers conferences and workshops. Contact us to find out if we will be presenting in your area or to start a conversation about a presentation to your group or association.
Workshops
If you live in or plan to visit Colorado, another option is participation in one of the three-hour Basics of Copyright Clearance Workshops that Joyce and Dan conduct periodically. Contact us find out if we will be conducting a workshop in your area or to start a conversation about a workshop for your group or association.
Customized Workshops
We offer customized workshops on the basics of copyright and obtaining copyright clearance to writers groups, independent publishing organizations, and trade associations related to the publishing industry. Workshop attendees will receive a copy of the print version of Copyright Clearance for Creatives and a CD with the PDF version, which contains 125 active hyperlinks.
Complete the form below to inquire about how we can customize a presentation or workshop for your organization, association, or group.