Ebook nuts n bolts

[glooft]

Hello. I have just finished the body of my ebook info product. Now I am wondering what to do about little things such as copyright. Do most people simply put "Copyright 2008 John Smith" at the beginning and that's it? Is there any other legal stuff that needs to go up front?

Also, does anyone sell their ebook through their own company (Inc., LLC, LTD, or other)? If so, should the copyright be in the author's name (me) or the company name?

Is there any links to ebook creation websites that deal with copyright and legal issues, tips on formatting, etc.? I know how to create a pdf so I don't care about that sort of stuff.

Thanks.
Gary

[Sven]

Copyright is a claim that says "I made this" So indeed, you just write it down and it is done. Unfortunately this only works for 2 dimensional stuff...

I would use my own name. If you put your company's on it and klater sell the company you sell the copyrights as well. In your own name you have to sell the rights specificly.

Sven

[AntonTheKhan]

Hello. I have just finished the body of my ebook info product. Now I am wondering what to do about little things such as copyright. Do most people simply put "Copyright 2008 John Smith" at the beginning and that's it? Is there any other legal stuff that needs to go up front?

Also, does anyone sell their ebook through their own company (Inc., LLC, LTD, or other)? If so, should the copyright be in the author's name (me) or the company name?

Is there any links to ebook creation websites that deal with copyright and legal issues, tips on formatting, etc.? I know how to create a pdf so I don't care about that sort of stuff.

Thanks.
Gary
You automatically are entitled to a copyright over your own work as soon as you set it down on a tangible media, such as paper, or hard drive. I would suggest that if you are worried about someone infringing your copyright that you register it with the copyright office (copyright.gov I think, but you can google it). It costs about $40 and should you end up in court you will have more reliable proof that the work is yours.
If your ebook takes off you can pretty much bet on the fact that it is going to be ripped off and/or offered for free so it is always good when you deal with infringers to be able to quote them your copyright number, etc, and threaten with legal action.
It is really eay, you fill out a form, mail it back with a check to the Copyright office and in few weeks you will recieve a notiication of your copyright. Your work becomes automatically registered as soon as it is recieved in the copyright office even if it is not processed. So you don't have to wait around to hear back from the office.
Make sense?

[kamakiri]

Is there any links to ebook creation websites that deal with copyright and legal issues, tips on formatting, etc.? I know how to create a pdf so I don't care about that sort of stuff.

Kind of a broad question here. From creation to copyright to formatting. As far as creation, you are just going to have to write it. There are volumes of ebooks for sale on the topic. Going through the process of buying one might help you get an idea of what you are getting into.

Or you could just go to a bit torrent tracker site and download any number of copyrighted materials for free. Copyrights do not stop people from giving away your ebook at all. Just think Napster.

Formatting? Not so important here. If you were going to have your book published and sitting at B&N, then you would have people pass on it if it had bad formatting, but they don't have the chance to kick the tires here. Get it written first then send it out to a few members here for free and have a peer review done. That should be more than enough.