How to protect a literary work

If you have come all this way, maybe you are a creator and you want to protect some of your writings, or those of your clients. Let us tell you that you are in the right place, because in this article we are going to explain in detail how to protect a literary work.

But first, in order to understand well which work you are going to register, let’s see what exactly is a literary work, which types can be protected and how to do it.

What is a literary work?

The Free Dictionary defines a literary work as “the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the alphabet (especially when considered from the point of view of style and effect”.

With this definition in mind, we can say that a literary work is a creation that emerges from the mind of a person and conveys a message through written language.

Literary works, as creative works, are protected by copyright, so that the creator may claim authorship and prohibit or authorize their use by third parties.

Why is it important to protect a literary work?

This is a question that some creators ask themselves: should I register my work or not? The short answer is: it is not mandatory, but highly recommended. The long answer and the reason why come next.

The Intellectual Property Law states that the intellectual property of a literary work belongs to the author by the mere fact of its creation. Therefore, the creator acquires the copyrights (moral and patrimonial) from the moment of its creation, whether he has registered the work or not. However, it is always advisable to do so in order to be able to exhibit it, sell it with peace of mind and minimize the risk of plagiarism, since if this were the case, the creator would have a technological proof to be able to demonstrate that his work has been plagiarized.

The difference between registering or not the work is that the author acquires a document with international validity as proof of his declaration of authorship with date. As the current legislation states, he is not obliged to do so, but with this document he could prove that he is the creator and, therefore, the owner of the exploitation rights, provided that he has not assigned them by means of a written assignment of rights contract.

Now you may be thinking: “Sure, logical. If you create a work, you register it and forget about it”. It may seem obvious, yes, but you should know that, in this case, the decision depends on the author, something that does not happen, for example, with intellectual property works (inventions, symbols, computer programs, trademarks and commercial signs), where they must always be registered with the competent authority.

If you are interested in further information on the types of copyright, read this article later.

What types of literary works can we protect?

Literary works are mainly classified into two categories: fiction (novels and short stories) and non-fiction (journalistic chronicles and essays). What is the common denominator? That in both cases the author uses a series of literary tools and resources that allow him to write the work, conveying a clear message.

However, there is some debate on the classification of literary works. Some experts believe that works should be separated in a strict sense, taking into account the type and genre. And others think that following this classification some would be left out, even if they fit the definition of literary work. If you wish, you can do more research on this subject. What we do tell you is that almost any writing can be registered, as a literary work or not, but leaving a record of it.

If you are writing a work or would like to do so, you will be interested in reading the post Publishing a book in a publishing house afterwards.

How to protect a literary work with Safe Creative?

Registering a literary work may seem an frustrating bureaucratic process, but nothing could be further from the truth. At Safe Creative we contribute to protect the rights of creators, that is why we offer you a 100% online copyright registration, cheaper than you think and with international validity so that you can protect your literary work.

Register your literary work as easy as this:

1. Log in or create your account

The first thing you should do is log in to your Safe Creative account with your username and password, or create a new one if you don’t have one yet. Here’s how to do it.

How to create an account from scratch:

• From this page, click on “New Account or Login”, which you will find at the top right of the website.
• Enter a valid email address and a secure password, and click on “Create a new account”.
• Fill in the form below. All you have to do is indicate whether it is a personal or organization account, contact details and country.
• Select the account that best suits your needs:

1. No subscription, totally free. You can register up to 20 works with Creative Commons open licenses, buy on our Creators platform and contact the authors.

2. Professional, from 6,5€/month + VAT. To register and manage your works with all rights reserved and obtain registration certificates with permanent validity.

3. Corporate, from 29€/month + VAT. To manage the rights of an organization or your clients.

2. Go to registration

After logging in with your email and password, click on “Register” and fill in the information requested. To do this, you must have previously confirmed your email address. If you have not received any email, look for the subject “Validate your email account”. You will only have to click on the link provided.

A very frequent doubt at this point is whether it is possible to register the work without having an ISBN. The answer is yes. You will not be able to market or sell a printed book without this code, but you can register it and then request it.

Step 2.1 Upload the file

Select the type of work you are going to register. In this case, a literary work. Upload the file or files by adding or dragging them from your computer and, once they have been uploaded, click “Continue”.

Step 2.2 Fill in the work’s details

You will have to fill in the title field of the work. Optionally, you can write a short summary, as well as enter keyword tags to access it from the work search tool.

Next, choose the type of rights license for the work and the type of registration you are going to make. Here you have 3 options:

• Private registration: it will not give any information.
• Public without download permission: it will only give registration information.
• Public with download allowed, with or without registration data, depending on the file type.

Then click “Next”.

Step 2.3 Authorship and rights

To complete the registration, you must indicate whether you are the author of the work and, therefore, register your moral rights and your exploitation rights, or whether you are the owner of the rights.

In the case of a co-authored work, click on “Add another author”. It is recommended to register all the authors of the work, as well as to estimate the percentage of authorship contributed by each one.

Finally, if you want to register and obtain proof of registration, click on “Register”. If you prefer to review the data later or change any of the uploaded files, click on “Save without finalizing”.

3. That’s it! Exhibit and sell

Congratulations, you have registered your artwork. You will soon receive your proof of authorship with international validity. Now you can exhibit your work and sell it with complete peace of mind.

As an extra recommendation, on our Creators platform you can show and monetize your artistic creation. Take a look at it!