Budding authors

You thought that actually writing the manuscript was the difficult part, but had you considered the following aspects?

ISBN 

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a unique identifier for books. An ISBN is not mandatory, and does not provide copyright on a work. However, ISBNs are the global standard for identifying titles, and are used internationally across the book trade and library sector. Most retailers require ISBNs to track book inventory for ordering, stocktake etc.

An ISBN is unique for a single version of a single book. If you wish to publish multiple versions of the same book eg. hardback, paperback, large print, digital (EPUB, MOBI, PDF), audio (CD, playaway, MP3) etc. each version has a different ISBN, thus identifying which version you have. Even different editions of the same book have different ISBNs.

In Australia the agency for providing an ISBN is Thorpe-Bowker, you can find more information and purchase an ISBN at their Identifier Services.

Legal deposit

A copy of most works published in Victoria must be deposited with State Library Victoria, within 60 days of publication, under Section 49 of the Libraries Act 1988 (Vic). As well, a copy must also be deposited with the National Library of Australia in Canberra.

Legal deposit, which has its origins in the Copyright Act 1869, has helped preserve and maintain a lasting record of Victoria’s publishing history. It has also enabled the State Library to collect Victorian publications not held in other libraries, providing valuable material for researchers.

A work can be written or printed, including books, magazines, newspapers, brochures, catalogues, newsletters, annual reports, maps, and musical scores, or in another format such as audio, video, CD-ROMS, DVDs or microfiche & film

While the legal deposit provisions of the Libraries Act 1988 do not specifically cover digital/electronic publications, the State Library is accepting and actively collecting these publications.

Works produced for companies, organisations, community groups, private individuals or the public must be deposited by the publisher. Even if your work isn't commercially published, you still need to deposit a copy of it.

Copyright

A word about copyright. Copyright is a legal right created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use, and the right to control certain activities with their works. These activities include copying and re-use, such as publication, performance, adaptation and communicating the work to the public (eg. by making it available online).

Copyright should be a balance between the creator protecting their work, and the work being available for legitimate use.

Generally, in Australia, copyright for photographs lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years. Ownership of a photo varies depending on the circumstances under which it was taken, eg. if it was created under an agreement or by commission, it was taken for the government, if an employee takes a photo as part of their job, copyright rests with the employer, except if the employer is a newspaper or magazine publisher – but excepting freelance photographers, and unless they have made a contrary agreement – yes copyright is a murky area.

Creators of copyright works, including photographers, have “moral rights” separate from copyright. Moral rights impose certain obligations on people who use a copyright work. A photographer has the right to:

• be attributed as creator of the photo

• take action if their work is falsely attributed

• take action if the work is distorted or treated in a way that is prejudicial to their honour or reputation.

It is just common decency to apportion credit, recognise sources, or admit the information came from elsewhere and wasn't your own work. An acknowledgement of where the information, image...was obtained, is the way to go.