Tao of Guerra

Are you wondering about how to copyright your work in the U.S.? What’s the legal way to copyright your work so if some dickweed decides to rip you off, you have proof that you thought of it first. Or if someone else genuinely had a very similar idea, you can at least prove that you did too. Here’s some info compiled from... http://www.copyright.gov and http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq

Is your work automatically copyrighted?
Yes. All original works of authorship (not ideas) that are created for the first time are protected.

When is my work protected?
Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

I’ve heard about a “poor man’s copyright.” What is it?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.

Do I have to register with your office to be protected?
No. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work. They provide a link to “Copyright Registration”.

Why should I register my work if copyright protection is automatic?
Registration is recommended for a number of reasons. Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certificate of registration. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation. Finally, if registration occurs within 5 years of publication, it is considered prima facie evidence in a court of law.

The United States has copyright relations with most countries throughout the world, and as a result of these agreements, we honor each other's citizens' copyrights. However, the United States does not have such copyright relationships with every country.

How much does it cost?
It’s subject to change, so check with http://www.copyright.gov/docs/fees.html. There are many types of copyright, but here are the 2 most common with fees as of today:

• Online registration of a basic claim in an original work of authorship (electronic filing): $35

• Registration of a basic claim in an original work of authorship on Form CO (paper filing with 2-D barcode-generated form): $50

Copyright Registration
In general, copyright registration is a legal formality intended to make a public record of the basic facts of a particular copyright.

However, registration is not a condition of copyright protection. Even though registration is not a requirement for
protection, the copyright law provides several inducements or advantages to encourage copyright owners to make registration. Among these advantages are the following:

• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.

• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is necessary for works of U. S. origin.

• If made before or within five years of publication, registration will establish prima facie evidence in court of
the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.

• If registration is made within three months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney’s fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner.

• Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the registration with the U. S. Customs Service for protection against the importation of infringing copies.

Registration may be made at any time within the life of the copyright. Unlike the law before 1978, when a work has been registered in unpublished form, it is not necessary to make another registration when the work becomes published, although the copyright owner may register the published edition, if desired.

What does copyright protect?
Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. They provide a link to “What Works Are Protected”.

Who can claim copyright?
Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.

In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered to be the author. Section 101 of the copyright law defines a “work made for hire” as:

1. A work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment.

2. A work specially ordered or commissioned for use as:

• a contribution to a collective work
• a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
• a translation
• a supplementary work
• a compilation
• an instructional text
• a test
• answer material for a test
• an atlas

If the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work
made for hire.

The authors of a joint work are co-owners of the copyright in the work, unless there is an agreement to the contrary.

Copyright in each separate contribution to a periodical or other collective work is distinct from copyright in the collective work as a whole and vests initially with the author of the contribution.

What works are protected?
Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated.

Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” for the first time. “Copies” are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm.

What is not protected by copyright?
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:

• Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded)

• Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents

• Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration

• Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources)

Post by Suzy

This week I’d like to talk about writing a script for comics and graphic novels, namely, how the right format can make a world of difference. I’ll use my mistakes to illustrate how much time you’ll save if you give script format some thought before you start. There are two basic comic scripting formats: the Marvel or plot script, the full script, and the Kurtzman Style, which is a variation of the plot script and is something I’ve recently discovered and like for short stories.


Let’s go back to the day when the idea for Samurai Elf® smacked me in the head. I sat down to write it the script using the Marvel method. It didn’t quite work well for me. I think part of the problem is that I was writing a graphic novel. Maybe people have better luck with this style for 22 page comic books. It was difficult to get a good flow of dialogue.

Plot Script
For plot scripts, the writer focuses on the plot and only provides some dialogue. Once the artist returns their pencils to the writer, they add in the dialogue to the finished pages. Here’s how Wikipedia describes it: “In a plot script the writer breaks his story down into individual pages. The writer may include some dialogue but does not fully script the story until the artist has drawn the story in pencil. Since Marvel Comics giants Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko preferred this method, this approach became commonly known as the Marvel Method.”

Full Script Comic
A full script is similar to the type of scripts that you find with screenplays. This style provides the entire story including, descriptions of scenes, dialog, sound effects, etc. If you work with artists, inkers, colorists, etc., it gives them everything they need to do their jobs without much more input from the writer. Descriptions of the actions of the characters and settings are described for each panel. These descriptions can be as simple as a few lines or can be several paragraphs. The rule of thumb is to give enough information so the people you’re working with understand what you want on each panel. The most important thing to remember is to be consistent and write so it’s easy to understand. You can take a look at, “The DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics” and “Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting” by Syd Field.

Write the dialogue in upper case (caps) and indented to make it easier for editors and letterers to identify who is speaking. Dialogue starts with the character's name and then an optional modifier to let the letterer know how to letter it. Here are some examples of modifiers:

• Op: Indicates that the character is speaking off-panel
• Thought: Indicates a thought balloon
• Whisper: Indicates to the letterer to use a whisper type font
• SFX: Indicates any sound effects that should be "heard" within the panel
• Cap: Indicates that words should be written within a caption

Kurtzman Style
I’ve recently discovered this official method, although I usually break down my pages in thumbnails naturally before I start a script, so I can see the advantage of this method, especially if you’re one of the writers and the artist.

Again, quoting from Wikipedia: “A variation of the plot script, attributed to Harvey Kurtzman, the writer breaks down the story into page roughs or thumbnail sketches, with captions and dialogue jotted down inside the roughs. The artist (who is often the comic's writer as well), then fleshes out the roughs onto full-size art board...Writer/artists Frank Miller and Jeff Smith favor this style; as did the late Archie Goodwin.”

In case you haven’t guessed...
There is no official standard way to write a comic script. Let’s go back to my experience with the Marvel method and Samurai Elf. Once I finished my initial draft, Suzy and I were both frustrated. She had a hard time figuring out how the dialogue was going to work with the images and vice versa. Sometimes the panels looked great, but Suzy needed to do a lot of tricks to make the dialogue fit the actions in the panels. It took her many drafts to get it as smooth as it is. We didn't want the dialogue to sound melodramatic. For volume two, we needed the illustrations and the script to flow together more naturally. As Suzy pointed out, “Dialogue should never be an afterthought.”

Post by Miguel and Suzy

Now that you have your great idea, it’s time to take those two sentences and turn them into a story. First I recommend you procrastinate and play some video games and, hey, wait a minute, that’s not right. I could tell it wasn’t right when I started the sentence. See how I’m rambling? It’s easy to avoid getting down to work. So, step 1 is to rein in your brain. Remain seated, stay calm and shake out your hands a few times. You won’t get published if you don’t write the story first.
Summary
To begin, write a summary of the overall story, usually a page or two. This can take you from two sentences to about two pages. Not too shabby. You already doubled your investment. Sometimes, the idea is solid enough that I can write it out in a few hours. Other times, I’ll play with the idea and try to flush it out over the next few days. Occasionally, it takes even longer because I’m thinking through as many plot twists as possible. I usually hash it out with Suzy (my co-writer) to see where we can take things and avoid any inconsistencies or plot holes, as well as flush out the characters.

Plot + Characters
For us, knowing the characters and how they would behave in a specific circumstance helps to develop a plausible plot, so the main characters are developed concurrently with the story. Not all of the characters need to be written, just the main ones, especially the protagonist and antagonist. You’ll think of rest of the characters along the way as the plot develops. In writing both, each play off of the other and the plot moves into different directions in a natural way. For example, a particular character trait (weakness or strength) might push the story in an unexpected direction. Always be open to the flow of the story. There shouldn’t be anything jarring that takes the reader out of the story. Never get a character to do anything that contradicts their personality (causes confusion), never write a plot that is boring (seems obvious), or that breaks the rules you set up for your world. What rules am I talking about? Something I mentioned in a previous post called, “Creating Worlds,” which mentioned George MacDonald’s essay, “The Fantastic Imagination.” If you’ve never heard of George MacDonald, he’s the guy J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis looked to for inspiration. Once you’ve established a rule, don’t break it. Here are a couple of excerpts:

“The natural world has its laws, and no man must interfere with them in the way of presentment any more than in the way of use; but they themselves may suggest laws of other kinds, and man may, if he pleases, invent a little world of his own, with its own laws; for there is that in him which delights in calling up new forms--which is the nearest, perhaps, he can come to creation…”

“A man's inventions may be stupid or clever, but if he does not hold by the laws of them, or if he makes one law jar with another, he contradicts himself as an inventor, he is no artist.”

Viewpoint
Some might say the most crucial character is the protagonist. You may have a protagonist in mind with your initial idea or you may find the protagonist as you develop the story. Both are fine since this character usually has the most important role in driving your plot. Let’s make up a story about a vegetarian vampire. From whose viewpoint is the story told? A vampire (heroic or heinous) a human, a wily cat or mischievous ghost? The sky’s the limit. This will radically change your story. Next think of what you want to say with the story? Do you want it to be a comedy, challenge people’s stereotypes, stick to well established rules or break them and enlighten your readers in the end?


If you take the vampire route, you may get to show more about their world, how they relate and live amongst the humans, their hierarchy or lack thereof, where they live, etc. If you tell the story from a human point of view, the reader perhaps feels a natural kinship and learns about this new world with fresh eyes. All of this helps you to create the story or summary, an overall breakdown with a beginning, middle and end.

Don’t Muzzle Your Idea
Write down all of the details of the story as you go. These will all help you to flush the summary into a full story and script later on. Don’t edit yourself too soon! Ideas are different that a final script. This is where you can go crazy and write out anything. You can decide what to keep or discard later on. If you think of a story arch with a character, write down what you’re thinking. If you think of something else, write that down too. When you’re done you can map the plot points, which we’ll cover in a later post.

Where to Begin?
Where will your story begin? Is it chronological, does it begin with a flashback? Do you start at the end and then tell the story from the beginning? This affects the tone and mood of your story. You can change your mind along the way. If you have a well thought out story, telling it from someone else’s viewpoint or starting it at a different point for impact won’t be so hard because you know where you want to end up.

Just remember it’s a creative process. Start with your ideas and then let them progress. Don’t get caught up in the method. Method and formatting are tools to help you structure things later on, once you have a solid grasp of your story. In the end, what matters is that you fully explore an idea like the eye of a tornado where everything else is dependent on. Once you’re happy with your summary/story it’s time to start plotting out the story. We’ll talk about this in our next post.

Post by Miguel & Suzy