Writer's Rights (U.S. Copyright) Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. You have just written a novel. You must register a copyright with the U.S. copyright office in order to own the copyright.

Answer: False

You own the copyright to your work the moment you set it down on paper. However, if someone does steal your work and infringe your copyright, that may be difficult to prove if you do not have a copy registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. Also, before suing in court, you will need to register your work.

2. FunTrivia content (text and images) are copyrighted under U.S. and international law.

Answer: True

The FunTrivia conditions of use state "FunTrivia content (text and images) are copyrighted under U.S. and Int'l law, you therefore agree not to electronically copy or redistribute any content gained from FunTrivia."

3. Which of the following cannot be copyrighted?

Answer: Titles

Titles, names, and short slogans cannot be copyrighted. Some of these can, however, be trademarked. The copyright for architectural works is relatively new, and did not take affect until late 1990.

4. You've just come up with a great new idea. Can you copyright it?

Answer: No

Ideas and systems cannot be copyrighted. Inventions, however, can be patented.

5. The U.S. Copyright Office offers special instructions on how to copyright photos of Elvis sightings.

Answer: True

Apparently, this is a frequently asked question. Once you obtain a copyright for your photo, no one may use it, though, of course, another may copyright his own, individual photo of the same Elvis sighting.

6. In 1982, you wrote a play. How long will your copyright last?

Answer: Until death plus 70 years

This rule applies to all works created after January 1, 1978. Your heirs can also renew the copyright after expiration.

7. When you write a poem, you must always put the copyright symbol on the poem before submitting it for potential publication in U.S. magazines.

Answer: False

The symbol is no longer legally required for copyright protection. Some editors will consider the inclusion of a copyright symbol to be the mark of an amateur poet, and they may also take it as an insult -the implication being that you think they may steal your work.

However, if you have self-published a collection of poems, or are posting them on your website, it is advisable--though not required--that you put the copyright symbol and a statement similar to: Copyright (year of publication), (your name), All Rights Reserved." This may keep readers who are unaware of copryight laws from thinking they can simply distribute your work.

8. There is no cost to register a copyright.

Answer: False

As of 2003, the cost was $30 per work (or collection of works registered under a single copyright).

9. Exclusive rights to your work may be granted to another without a written agreement.

Answer: False

Only non-exclusive rights can be granted by implication, or without a written agreement. To transfer exclusive rights, there must be a written, signed, agreement. That is to say, no one can claim the sole right to ownership of your work without first getting your written, signed statement to that effect.

10. You want to publish a poem that has already appeared in a small press magazine. (The magazine did not obtain all rights to your work, and you still own the copyright.) Can you submit it to a major magazine that says it obtains first serial rights?

Answer: No

"First Serial Rights" means they want the right to publish your work for the very first time in any periodical. If it has already been published previously, they will not want you to submit it.

11. Now you want to publish a story that has already appeared in a small press magazine. (The magazine did not obtain all rights to your work, and you still own the copyright.) Can you submit it to a major magazine that obtains reprint rights?

Answer: Yes

"Reprint Rights" (sometimes called "Second Serial Rights") means you grant permission to the magazine to "reprint" a previously published work. If a magazine offers reprint rights, then it must consider previously published works for submission.

12. You are writing a book review, and want to quote a short line or two from the book in question. Will this likely qualify as copyright infringement?

Answer: No

This would probably fall under the "fair use" exception to copyright, which allows short portions of works to be quoted in reviews, literary criticism, news reporting, etc.

13. You want to publish a poem in two different magazines, both of which will appear at about the same time. What kind of rights should you grant to your work?

Answer: One-time rights

One-time, or simultaneous, rights means that you are granting the publication a non-exclusive right to use your work. You can publish it in another periodical at the same time, and all rights to the work remain with you.

14. You published an E-book and granted "all rights" to your E-book publisher. Now, a different traditional print publisher wants to publish the book as a trade paperback. Can you give this new publisher permission to publish your book?

Answer: No

The E-book publisher owns "all rights" to your work-including electronic and print rights. Another publisher cannot print the book in any form without permission from the previous publisher, so be careful about signing over all rights to your work!

15. You work for an accounting firm. You are on its payroll and you produce its newsletter. You write a fabulous article for the newsletter about how to cut your taxes. Who owns the copyright - you or your employer?

Answer: Your employer

This is "work for hire" and your employer, or company, would own the rights to your article. This is if you are directly employed by the company. If you are a freelance writer - an independent contractor - who contributes an article to the newsletter, however, you would retain the copyright, unless you have specifically signed a "work for hire" agreement first.

16. In the court case in Tasini v. New York Times, the judge ruled that, in the absence of a contract to the contrary, a publisher may place all of the articles in its printed publication in an online archive, without further permission from the author or compensation.

Answer: True

The plaintiff was the President of the National Writers' Union. This ruling could could have important ramifications for freelance writers. More and more, publishers are specifying in written contracts what publication rights they are retaining, so read your contract carefully!

17. You have just published a short story on a website, but you have not given up print rights. What kind of rights did you likely grant?

Answer: electronic

"Electronic Rights" are rights to publish or distribute a work on a website, in an e-mail newsletter, via CD-ROM, as part of a database, or via other electronic media.

18. You want to use the full text of a poem as a heading to one of your chapters. The author has been dead for 100 years, so you can definitely use the work without worrying about copyright infringement.

Answer: False

Although most works may be in the public domain within 100 years after an author's death, it is possible that the copyright was inherited by a family member, or purchased by someone else, and that it has been kept renewed and active.

19. You write a piece of "X-files fanfiction" using the Mulder and Scully characters and settings. Is this probably copyright infringement?

Answer: Yes

Those characters are owned by the creator, Chris Carter. Indeed, most fanfiction (if not based on works in the public domain, such as Jane Austen fanfiction) is probably a copyright infringement. However, most TV and movie producers and many authors have chosen to turn a blind eye to fanfiction, because they do not want to alienate their fans and because it tends to provide them with free publicity and does not seem to diminish the value of their works.

The fanfiction issue has not yet been tried in the courts, however, and it is uncertain how a judge might rule.

20. A teacher is having her class analyze a poem that is not yet in the public domain. She makes twenty copies of the poem, one for each of her students, to read in class. Is she likely to be found liable for copyright infringement?

Answer: No

The "fair use" exclusion allows for teachers to make copies for classroom instruction. Proper credit must be given.

21. You obtain a federal report from the internet authored by the federal government. You think it will be helpful to your newsletter audience, so you copy it word for word and publish it in your newsletter. Is this copyright infringement?

Answer: No

All federal documents and publications authored by the federal government (and not by private contractors) are considered to be a part of the public domain and are not protected by copyright.

22. You have published a short story in a United States periodical. Now you want to publish it in a Canadian periodical. Which type of rights can you grant?

Answer: Second Serial Rights

If the Canadian periodical accepts reprints, you can grant second serial rights (or reprint rights), which will give them permission to reprint the work. First North American Serial Rights means you are granting the periodical the right to publish the work for the first time in any North American periodical, which you obviously cannot do if it has already been published in the U.S.

23. You post a sonnet by William Shakespeare on your website and credit it to yourself. What have you committed?

Answer: Plagiarism

Since Shakespeare's works are in the public domain, this is not copyright infringement, but since you have taken credit for the words, it is plagiarism. One (copyright) is a legal issue, the second (plagiarism) an ethical issue.

24. You wish to post on your own website a short story written by someone else. The story is not in the public domain, but since you aren't making any money off of the story, this is not copyright infringement.

Answer: False

It is still copyright infringement, whether or not you profit, and you could be sued. Most likely, however, the author will not bother to sue someone who cannot provide compensation; he or she will probably ask you, first, to take the work down. You should never post the works of others without their permission.

25. When 2 Live Crew copied the bass rift from Roy Orbison's "Pretty Woman" and set to the tune words that parodied the original song, the Supreme Court ruled that the act was copyright infringement.

Answer: False

The "fair use" exclusion was interpreted to apply in cases of parody, and 2 Live Crew was not found to be infringing on Orbison's copyright. Therefore, an author might legally use copyrighted characters and scenes from another work if he is writing a parody of that work, but not if he is simply writing a serious sequel to that work.

Source: Author skylarb

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

What rights do you have to your own work? What different kinds of rights can you grant? When and how can you use another person's work? Find out with this quiz. All answers are according to U.S. Copyright law and publishing industry standards as of 2003

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