Part I: Copyright Law

(1) Go to the U.S. Copyright Home Page (http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/)

(2) Find the section titled “Frequently Asked Questions” and browse that section.

(3) Post the answers to the following questions on MyHeritage:

How do you register a copyright?

How long does U.S. copyright last? (Note: this has changed several times in recent years—and I only found out the new laws at this site myself <LOL>!)

Can you protect your copyright without registering it?

For you to figure out (not explained on this site): Most magazines purchase “First North American Serial Rights.” What does that mean?

Part II: Ethical Dilemmas

Consider the following situations. How would you respond if you faced these dilemmas? Jot down a plan (one paragraph) and then post your solutions/ideas/responses on the Jenzabar site.

(1) You discover that part of a submission to your magazine has been plagiarized from another source. You don’t know whether this was intentional or due to ignorance. What do you do?

(2) Just before you go to print or upload your publication, a contributor (with whom you have a signed contract) wants to pull a submission. What do you do?

(3) Your publication receives a well-written satire which lampoons one of your sponsors/supporters/publishers. Your staff wants to run it. What do you do?