Guest: NAIWE’s Copyright Expert MJ Courchesne

As a writer, you know the value of your work, and have a keen interest in protecting it. You also may know that your work is copyrighted as soon as you put thoughts into a fixed medium, so why should you bother registering your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office? Using case studies and scenarios, this webinar will review the basics of copyright law in the United States, why you should register your work, how to go about registration, and some common misconceptions of copyright, permissions, and fair use.

Here’s what you can expect to learn in this class:

• What copyright is

• What is (and is not) copyrightable

• What copyright does

• When something becomes copyrighted (and for how long)

• Myths about copyright

Duration: 55 minutes

Mary Jo (“MJ”) Courchesne is the owner and principal consultant of Gryphon Publishing Consulting. A publishing veteran with more than 20 years of experience in trade, academic, and direct-response publishing, she has spent nearly two decades specializing in licensing, subsidiary rights, and permissions. MJ is a frequent and polished presenter on licensing and copyright. When it comes to intellectual property, she firmly believes that everyone from authors to publishers to corporations should know their rights when it comes to intellectual property. To that end, MJ instructed in the George Washington University’s Masters in Publishing program for 13 years, first for 11 years as adjunct professor for a course titled Editorial Content, Rights, and Permissions and subsequently as lecturer in a course on copyright. MJ has also held memberships with other publishing organizations such as the American Society of Picture Professionals and Washington Publishers.