Things You Might Like to Know about Copyrights

You may be under the false impression that before you can get your text published, you must "get the copyright" to your own written material. You might also think that in order to get the copyright, you must "apply" for it. This is just not so. In the following few paragraphs, I'll give you some simple facts about copyrights that may help you in your quest to get published. First, it is important to understand that you cannot "copyright" an idea; you can only copyright what you have written. That is, you might have just written the greatest self-help manual on how to breed guppies. And you did, indeed, file for your copyright with the Library of Congress. Three weeks after completing the formal copyrighting process, you find out that the manager of your neighborhood pet store (where you've been buying your guppies) has just sold the TV rights to a new hit show "Breeding Guppies" and he is using many of the same principles that you've outlined in your manual on how to go about guppy breeding. So, naturally, since this is the 21st Century and you live in America, you want to sue the guy. You think you have a sure thing, and you are dreaming of the million-dollar award that the jury is sure to give you. But