#Simple writer contract how to#
#Simple writer contract movie#
#Simple writer contract professional#

#Simple writer contract professional#

If you want to make a professional career as a freelance writer, you must take the responsibility seriously. If you wish to quote even one line from a song, for example, you must seek written permission from the copyright holder.Īs a freelance writer, it’s your responsibility to make sure you have all necessary legal permissions for any copyrighted or trademarked elements in your work. Photo by Umberto on Unsplash Quoting someone else’s workĬopyright and trademark laws also decide if, what, and how much you may quote from someone else’s work.

#Simple writer contract movie#

A recent case in point was the action which Lucas Films took against a website which published “fan fiction” and produced an amateur movie using the characters and settings from the Star Wars franchise. You may find yourself the subject of legal action if you do. That’s why you cannot write a book which includes a trademarked character. The law can protect titles, characters and authors as “trademarks”. Trademarks and the freelance writerīut copyright isn’t the only law protecting the unique rights of an individual or organization to own, publish, sell, or distribute original work. Passing Off is a legal term for any deliberate attempt to fool others into thinking the work they have bought is a famous work, or about a famed character, or written by a famous author, when it isn’t. In principle that means you could publish a novel with the title “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” with characters called “Huck” and “Tom” under the author name “Mark Twain” and be within the law.īut before you think that might be a great idea, you should know the law against “Passing Off”. Titles, fictional character names, and real or pseudonymous author names are not subject to copyright. There are limitations to copyright law other than time. In North America the same law applies to works created during or after 1978, whereas works created between 19 enjoy copyright protection for 95 years, and works created before 1922 are out of copyright. In Europe, including Great Britain, copyright endures for 70 years after the end of the year in which the original creator dies. The law automatically grants copyright to the creator of the work unless the creator sells or assigns the rights to a third party. In fact, any work which has a distinct and original form.

This law applies to writing, music, painting, sculpture, games, graphic design, photographs, computer programs, and websites. Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash Copyright and the freelance writerĬopyright protects original work and the exclusive right to publish it. Roll up your sleeves and let’s get stuck in. To that end, we’ll also examine taxation and contracts for the professional freelance article writer.

#Simple writer contract how to#

Freelance writers should keep up-to-date with these laws not only to avoid breaking them but also to make sure they know how to protect their own rights in the work they produce and sell. I’ll explain to you as simply as possible the key laws protecting the rights of a creator to be identified as the author of an original work in North America and Great Britain.

But you must be careful to avoid breaching copyright and trademark laws. Much of what you write will be based on research.

To make a living, you must be productive and sell numerous articles. Selling articles within the lawĪs a professional freelance writer your aim is to sell articles and fiction to magazines, journals, blogs, and websites. But to make things easier for you, I’ll explain the essential information about copyright, libel, tax, contracts and more for the freelance article writer selling to the North American and British markets, stripped of legalese and put into plain English. It took me a while to understand everything I needed to know to handle this side of my business. But if you expect financial success from your freelance writing business, then you need to get down with the legal stuff. We’re creatives, not accountants or lawyers. I know how daunting this can be from personal experience. To sell articles consistently and build a successful freelance writing career, it’s vital to understand the basic legal aspects affecting your work. Image by William Iven from Pixabay What you need to know