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I've been exploring the ComStar website, and I just can't resist posting this gem, from its FAQ page:
Hint to authors: If your publisher has this many misconceptions about copyright, you're in trouble.
- Victoria
This is the most inventive rationale I've ever seen for ducking the expense of registering copyright on the author's behalf."Question:
Does ComStar copyright the books or does the author copyright the books?
Answer:
This is a big deal. Even if ComStar were to copyright an author’s book in their name, if we held the TX number that would be generated from that, ComStar would actually hold the copyright. I know authors who have spent thousands of dollars trying to get their TX numbers and while ComStar would never want to hold an author’s copyright numbers hostage, we don’t want that responsibility either.
Now, when the book is published, it is automatically copyrighted to the author. If ComStar (or no one else for that matter) holds a TX number on it then the copyright belongs to the author. If the author sends themselves their manuscript in a sealed USPS flat rate mailer it will be postmarked and that, as long as it remains sealed, will prove in a court of law that you are in fact the owner of the story.
Do yourself a favor. Go through the process of copyrighting your story and keep your TX numbers! These might come in handy one day. No author should ever want a publisher to do this process for them, unless they aren’t interested in holding the copyright on their manuscripts. It’s just too dangerous.
Hint to authors: If your publisher has this many misconceptions about copyright, you're in trouble.
- Victoria