no stealing?

[mydreamreality]

i'm kinda new to all this...but if someone posts a poem and getz opinions and stuff on it, how do they know that someone else won't steal it and publish it for themselves...and if u guys are posting published poems so no one can steal them anyway, how does one go about getting their poems published?

[Neurolanis]

I know, that's something I've worried about too. I guess you just have to make a decision. To post or not to post? No one has yet noticed a poem of there's had been stolen ( I shouldn't brag.)

[Bmat]

It is asked that people don't use chatspeak on the site.

I don't know the answer to the question about people stealing. Something I wonder about is that if a person posts something, and then someone else claims it is theirs, then the first person, who has proof of a date on the post, does this constitute proof of being the author?

[Neurolanis]

Chatspeak?

[Magus]

Chatspeak = "plz", "g2g", "lol", "brb", "i c", "s8er" and "gdnite, gdnite, prting is sch sweet srrow. tht i shud say gdnite till it b mrrow."

Yeah, by posting it you submit the date of the post along with them poem, which I'd think is proof enough that you're the primary author. Plus not many people I'd suspect would hound the internet to steal poetry.

[mydreamreality]

i guess that sorta makes sense, if the date is on the posted poem, i guess it would be okee to post a few poems...i was just asking, b/c an ex-bf of mine wrote me a poem in a birthday card on year, and a little while later i saw the same thing he wrote me on some plastic hallmark card thingy...i was upset b/c i thought he wrote it for me.....lol. but it was sweet nevertheless, but he still stole it, kinda.
but since i am trying to get publised, i would like some honest opinions of my work before i go swimming with the sharks...heh

[Magus]

Ever consider that Halmark stole it from him?



[creepy ghost-voice]If you post it they'll reply.[/cree[y ghost-voice]

[mydreamreality]

um, i guess i never thought about it like that before. but it had an author on it and it wasn't my ex's name. lol. at first i thought it was sweet that he was trying to impress me, but i guess b/c i really wanna get published myself one day, i thought he pulled a cheap trick...itz not like we broke up over that or anything....but u can never be so careful...i would feel really silly showing my friends what he wrote for me when they say their boyfriend gave them a card with the same poem in it.....lol.
lates

[The Master]

My non-legal opinion personal view on the matter...

Technically copyright is obtained when you write the poem regardless of the medium. I would expect that a posting here, with its date stamping ability in particular, would be just as valid as any other type of publication from a technical standpoint. A more formal publication (i.e. a paper magazine) that keeps formal records of submissions, payments to authors, and publishes on a set calendar might afford a better level of proof.

In any event, copyright is one of those odd little things where what technically occurs and what your legal recourse might be don't necessarily cooincide. My layman understanding is that, in most cases, a publication generally will retract/remove stories, artwork, etc. if you can show compelling evidence that it is yours. However, in order to sue for damages in court (i.e. to say that Joe Blow stole your poem, published, and made $1M that should have been yours) you probably need to register the copyright.

All that said keep in mind that the internet is just as public as things get and what you post is accessible from every country in the world. Not all countries have identical laws nor do they provide equal protections for intellectual property. If you are truly concerned that your work might be stolen you should not post it on ANY website at any time.

[Magus]

True. If you're really worried about it you should learn more about international copywrite laws. But, unless you feel that somebody's out to steal your work, I don't see the harm in posting it. A lot of people do, myself included, and it can always be deleted if you want it to be.

[mydreamreality]

itz just easier on my journal i guess. i can lock my entries, or put friends only or leave it public for anyone to see.....i mostly keep it on friends only tho, that way i know who is reading my journal....lol. but the pple i've met so far onhere seem really nice, ya know? and i do want honest feedback, my husband says everything write is good and so do my parents....i would believe their "opinions" if they told me i messed up on something every once in a while, ya know? lol. if i wanna post and just wanna keep it on for 2 days so some pple can post to me about it, how would i go about deleting it after itz been up for 2 or 3 days? will it delete the whole thing with posts and everything, or just the actual entry with the poem on it?
i know i must sound paranoid.....i'm not really, u just can't be too careful i guess...i was thinking about putting one of my poems on this thread....which i might do tomorrow...
thanx &
lates
oh yeh....u can get something copyrighted with out being pubished? or do they go hand in hand?

[Magus]

According to international copyright law everything you ever write is automatically copywritten the moment it goes from your mind onto your paper. It's yours, every word of it. Even the words I'm typing right now in this post are mine the moment I type them, not the moment I post them. You see?

They're yours from their conception and creation. Publication is only one way to prove your copyright. Registering the copyright is another way. Mailing it to yourself, not opening it and then holding onto it is another way. But your work is protected the second you write it.

But it should be said that there are things that do not fall under copyright law: Titles and ideas being foremost among them.