US and International Copyright Information

The question often arises, for our International Authors, "Do I have to copyright in my own country AND the United States?" Today we have an answer.

I spoke with the US Copyright Office, at http://www.copyright.gov/, and was directed to their Circular 38A. You can read this Circular by clicking on the link to the right "US and International Copyright".

In short, it says: There is no such thing as an “international copyright” that will automatically protect an author’s writings throughout the world, since protection against unauthorized use in a particular country depends on the national laws of that country. However, most countries offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions that have been greatly simplified by international copyright treaties and conventions. The agreement which may be most important to us as self-published authors is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. The US joined the Berne Convention in 1988. As of September 2008, 164 countries around the world are parties to the Berne Convention.

A LOT OF WORDS, WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
If your country is a member of the Berne Convention and you copyright within your country, you are also protected in the US and all other member countries to the convention. The same is true if you copyright your book in the US - your work is protected in the US and all other member countries to the convention. Check to see if your country is a member of the Berne Convention, by clicking on the link to the right "US and International Copyright" and scrolling through the countries, which are listed alphabetically.

I trust this will be helpful. If you have further questions about US copyright, go to http://http://www.copyright.gov/.


Blessings,

Susan