how can i license my novel

[new one]

musta/hi

im gonna make my novel into a visual novel

but

i have a fear that someone may steal my original story
how can i license it? free please hehe

also if i were to put my novel in a blog in pure text format
is there a way to protect it from plagiarists?

i know one way

the poor man's license

i get my script
put it in a package and send it to my home's address and not open it so i have an evidence that i made it

but for now i cant do that cause i only done a few chapters of my first novel and hundreds more to go

you could call my work light novel inspired by Japanese's works
cause i would like to follow the format of light novels

im really new to this kind of stuff
appreciate the help

[papillon]

Anything you make is automatically copyrighted. Which doesn't mean people can't steal it.

The mailing method is not legal and is a waste of time.

If you're worried, a better way to protect it is to make sure that you DO share it with enough people who can then vouch that you made it first.

[PyTom]

If you want, you can register your work with the copyright office, for $45.

http://www.copyright.gov/register/literary.html

That's probably overkill, though. papillon is right, one of the best ways to establish primacy is to ensure that people know you're the author of it, by being the one to make it public.

If a person can read something, they can copy it. Period. There's no way to protect a book or other form of written material that makes it impossible to copy.

[lordcloudx]

yo! Does musta mean you're from the Phil?

If you want, you might as well try to get it published by a local publisher. They'd do that if you have connections or just pay them enough.

papillon is right. Anything you make is automatically copyrighted to you the moment you make it public.

Of course, if you plan to post it on the internet for free, it will be considered public domain after a set number of days (30 days in metro manila I think) unless you reserve the right to redistribute, modify, publish etc.

[new one]

thanks all

@lordcloudx

yeah pinoy me

for now im keeping my novel/light novel till published hehe

also make a short story and put it in a visual novel
hope it turns out good

salamat

thanks again

[Jake]

Of course, if you plan to post it on the internet for free, it will be considered public domain after a set number of days (30 days in metro manila I think) unless you reserve the right to redistribute, modify, publish etc.

As it goes, I'm fairly sure this isn't the case in most western countries - copyright is copyright regardless of how you distribute something. Presumably this is a law specific to the Philippines? As I understand it, the 'all rights reserved' commonly seen on released works is more a defence against assumption of implied license, at least in this country...

[dreamer]

Jake: mebbe who knows? But anywayz, it only applies if you're planning to sell something. Say a visual-novel you distributed freely and publicly for more than 30 days. Then one day you decide to license and sell your work. If an interested party complains, it will be decided in favor of the complainant because according to the intellectual property code of the Philippines. That particular visual novel is now property of public domain.

[lordcloudx]

jurisprudence is "Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers v. Tan GR 36401 March 16, 1987 (Don't know if this case is still the leading authority on the subject matter)

intellectual creation should be copyrighted 30 days after publication if made in Manila or within 60 days if made elsewhere failure of which renders such creation public property.

If the public has made use of the object sought to be copyrighted for 30 days prior to copyright application, the law deems the object to have been donated to public domain and the same can no longer be copyrighted

freakin legalese

and... sorry for the quasi-double post.

[DaFool]

I see.

So it's important that I know from the very beginning that a certain work will be freeware or commercial.

For now, as all my works are freeware so far, I stick in something from here:
http://creativecommons.org/

Oh, and don't worry about copying of ideas...that will only happen if your work proves popular. If not, no one would bother copying it.

It's best to associate your name with the project all the time

*cough* google Magical Boutique
*cough* google Nettestadt Troll

By sheer internet keyword domination, I hereby am a copyright owner / co-owner of said works / projects

[papillon]

Ah. Well, then, we go back to the standpoints of what happens when people ask copyright questions on the GMC...

"Don't ask us! We're not lawyers! And we all live in different countries so the answers you get even if they're right SOMEWHERE may not be right for you!"

[DaFool]

lordcloudx: So does that legalese mandate that you have to pay some office to 'officially' copyright your online work for said type of protection if you plan to sell it later on?

[Jake]

intellectual creation should be copyrighted 30 days after publication if made in Manila or within 60 days if made elsewhere failure of which renders such creation public property.

That just seems bizarre, to me. According to Wikipedia-which-always-lies, the Philippines has been a signatory to the Berne convention since 1951 (which is well before 1987), and the Berne convention requires that copyright is assigned automatically, at the moment of creation. I can see the reasoning behind the above quote, but I can't see any way for both of those aforementioned things to be true and for this quoted situation to also ever possibly occur... but maybe I'm making the mistake of trying to apply logic to law.

[DaFool]

Ah! But that doesn't apply in a country with among the highest number of lawyers per capita as well as the highest amount of lawlessness in the region. (But I'm sure lordcloudx will remedy that as soon as he passes the bar )

Well, it's kinda late now to focus this country on science and technology...which would have been the fast-track to decent laws, since a country bent on technological dominance will make sure it protects its strengths.

But it's precisely why I feel more confident about creating an eroge than, if I were to be living, for example, in Singapore. At least in the wild west, you can be wild

[Nafai]

For other Filipinos: Well IP is a growing industry here, but our copyright law isn't *quite* that bad. We're in-line with the "protect from creation" position.

Here's a snippet from the IP Code, which having been passed in 1998, would prevail over the '87 case.

SEC. 172. Literary and Artistic Works

172.1 Literary and artistic works, hereinafter referred to as "works", are original intellectual creations in the literary and artistic domain protected from the moment of their creation and shall include in particular:

[lordcloudx]

Jake and Nafai: actually, there's no conflict with what we're saying. There is automatic copyright protection, but you forfeit that protection by the example in the case I gave... or

like so

if you're planning to sell something. Say a visual-novel you distributed freely and publicly for more than 30 days. Then one day you decide to license and sell your work. If an interested party complains, it will be decided in favor of the complainant because according to the intellectual property code of the Philippines. That particular visual novel is now property of public domain.

my book on property confirms automatic copyright (which is a 1999 publication, so it also covers the intellectual property code RA 8293)

Even before the author or composer has published the work, he is already the owner of the creation. To protect his copyright however, he must ask for a copyright if he intends the work to be published. Unless the copyright is obtained, the ownership by him will be lost. Mere circulation among close friends and associates however, is not considered publication. (See Mansell v. Valley Printing Co., 15 Ann. Cos. 133)

Edit: Also take note of, "If the general public has made use"

and this is where the Berne convention comes in.

Section 237. Notification on Berne Appendix. - The Philippines shall by proper compliance with the requirements set forth under the Appendix of the Berne Convention (Paris Act, 1971) avail itself of the special provisions regarding developing countries, including provisions for licenses grantable by competent authority under the Appendix. (n)

lolz looks like there's no such word as "grantable."

and if I'm wrong I blame my teacher on property Judge ***** ****** Go

DaFool: I can't right wrongs by being a lawyer... but if I had a death note, ahh!

Jake: Philippine law isn't about logic, but about what the freakin supreme court decides. Which is the reason for the flip-flopping decisions regarding the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus during the martial law years.

Generally, the last case decided on the subject matter is the leading authority on the subject matter. But if a new law which repeals the old one has been passed since then, the justices might make a new decision based on the new law... but nothing can prevent them from going with their decision in the old case. (and justifying it in legalese)

edit: One more thing, I'm not sure how this would apply to subsequent versions of software. Like version 1.0 is free but 2.0 is now shareware. We haven't been updated with any recent leading cases on this.

edit2: Most of the stuff I quoted are taken from the lecture, "Intellectual Property Rights Versus Editors and Publishers" given March 13, 1998 by Dean E.C. Paras, Jr