Copyright a manuscript still in development?

[bk_2020]

Hi all,

I'm currently writing a novel, and would like to have some form of protection over it. However, I am not certain whether I should register it now, whilst I am still writing it, or after it is completed.

Any advice you can give me will be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[FlyingRon]

You have copyright as soon as it's expressed in tangible form (written down, typed into a computer).
Registration really isn't that important until you publish it (assuming that's what you're intending to do). How is someone going to infringe on things they haven't seen?

 

[bk_2020]

You have copyright as soon as it's expressed in tangible form (written down, typed into a computer).
Registration really isn't that important until you publish it (assuming that's what you're intending to do). How is someone going to infringe on things they haven't seen?

The plan is to get it published, yes. The only reason I'm considering registering it now, is because I have shared the idea with other writers and have had others look over my manuscript. I'm 99.9% no one will pull the carpet from underneath me, but it's worth having that protection, right?

 

[single317dad]

The plan is to get it published, yes. The only reason I'm considering registering it now, is because I have shared the idea with other writers and have had others look over my manuscript. I'm 99.9% no one will pull the carpet from underneath me, but it's worth having that protection, right?

Are you talking about copyrighting the exact words you're writing (e.g. "Once upon a time there was a nice vampire.") or the general idea (e.g. a series of novels about nice vampires)?

 

[quincy]

The plan is to get it published, yes. The only reason I'm considering registering it now, is because I have shared the idea with other writers and have had others look over my manuscript. I'm 99.9% no one will pull the carpet from underneath me, but it's worth having that protection, right?

Because you have shared your idea with others by having them read your manuscript, you have no protection for your idea. Ideas can be used by anyone. They have no protection under copyright law.

What you do have, as FlyingRon indicated, is copyright protection for the specific way you have already expressed your idea. No one else can use the same words. The copyright protection is automatic.

It is possible to register an incomplete work but most people will wait until a work is completed before registering their work with the US Copyright Office. Registering your work is smart before you present your work to the public. Registration makes you eligible for statutory damages should your work be infringed. You will want to register your manuscript, in other words, before you publish it. The cost to register is $35.

For more information, you can visit the US Copyright Office's official site: http://www.copyright.gov

This is assuming you are in the US. You failed to mention your state name. Copyright laws can vary in some pretty significant ways from country to country.