Wants to Register Book With Antique Glass Negatives

Dear Rich: I have been collecting interesting antique glass negatives. Some I restored, others I changed artistically. I plan on writing a book of Haiku poetry and using the images from the glass negatives (50-100 of them). The dates of the glass negatives are from approximately 1860 to 1900. Some are from countries which match our copyright laws. The photographers are unknown. Do I have to apply for a copyright on each image separately or can I just submit the whole book for copyright (including the images)? 

We think you should wait until the book is completed and then register the copyright as a literary work, focusing on protection of your haikus. Registration of the imagery (the glass negatives) is more complicated.
Copyright in glass negatives. Even if the negatives are in the public domain (see discussion below), you would not be able to claim copyright if you simply restored the image. We think restoration -- though it requires great skill -- lacks the originality necessary to transform a public domain work into a registrable work. In the end it is closer to the "slavish reproductions" referenced in the Bridgeman Art Library case. As for the negatives that you "changed artistically," you may be able to register your modifications as a derivative work. And if you have several modified negatives you can register the modified collection as one registration, again assuming the works are in the public domain.
Public domain status. You can assume that the glass negatives are in the public domain if they were published before 1900. However, you can't make that assumption if the works were never published -- that is copies were never distributed for sale or loan to the public. Unpublished glass negatives may be protected in some cases for 120 years. As a practical matter we doubt whether you will hear from an angry centenarian photographer (or his or her estate) but the issue of whether the negatives are protected by copyright arises when seeking to register derivative works.
Registration process. The less expensive method of registration is to file electronically using the standard application for $55 (versus $85 for paper applications). It's possible that you can register both text and imagery on one registration provided they qualify as a single unit of publication. You can read the rules here (scroll down to "What Can Be Included on a Single Application?") As the sole author of the haikus, you can definitely register them as a single unit but we're not sure of the copyright status of the glass negatives (or what you've contributed) so we're unclear whether your modifications as a group merit a single unit registration for the whole book. And as we point out regularly, you obtain copyright regardless of registration; it's automatic.
P.S. Even it's not your birthday today, happy birthday.

How Often Do We Register SaaS Software Copyright?

Dear Rich: I can't seem to find any recommendations for how to handle copyright registration of software that is changing frequently. Now that SaaS (software as a service - ed) software companies are publishing software updates weekly or even daily, it seems that the pace of copyright registration might not be keeping up. The copyright office was pretty noncommittal, suggesting that the safest route would be to register whenever the code changed "substantially." Care to take a stab at suggesting a 'best practices' cadence here?

We agree with the Copyright Office. Unless the code changes dramatically or unless you are offering features that are materially different from previous editions, it doesn't make business sense to register each weekly change. This is premised on the fact that the major benefits from registration -- statutory damages, the possibility of attorney fees, the ability to file a lawsuit -- are related to infringement disputes. Assuming the version of the software that is infringed contains the key elements and code that were previously registered, you could proceed with your dispute and reap the benefits of registration. Even if there were a gap between what was infringed and what was registered, you still own the copyright (it's automatic regardless of registration) and could, if necessary, expedite registration to incorporate the features (and claim the actual damages for infringements of those new features). In summary, register the key versions of your code -- those versions, which if infringed, would cause you significant damage.

How Do I Copyright Children's Book?

Dear Rich: We have a wonderful book about ready to send to the printer. The idea for the story came from my wife and I. We contracted with someone to write and illustrate the book. We have had many discussions along the way where we changed text and the order of the story, even getting together for a couple intense days of rewrite. We have this section in our contract: 

A. The Author hereby grants and assigns to the Publisher, its successors, representatives, and assigns, the sole and exclusive right to publish (i.e., print, publish, and sell) the Work in the English language in all forms in the United States of America, its territories and dependencies, and Canada, during the full term of copyright and any renewals and extensions thereof, except as provided herein. 

My question is how do we actually copyright the book? Does the author have to do it and the contract gives us control or can we copyright it ourselves?

Under your contract provision, the author retains copyright to his or her contributions and grants to you, the publisher, the exclusive North American English-language book publishing rights. The author retains all other rights (unless the contract states otherwise) including foreign, translation, book club, film and television, audio, and dramatic rights.
Co-authorship? Your contributions -- story ideas, structure, rewrite -- may make you co-authors of the text, and possibly of the illustrations as well. In that case, the book would be considered a joint work, and you, your spouse, and the author would all be co-owners of the copyright.
Registration. Although registration is not mandatory, it is strongly recommended. Anyone who owns all or part of the rights that make up a work’s copyright may register that work. Therefore, because you retain those exclusive North American publishing rights, you can file as copyright owner of those specific rights. You would name the author (person who did the text and illustrations) as author, and if you determined that you and your spouse were co-authors, you would add your names as authors as well. By the way, you should be able to register the text and illustrations on one application (as a "single unit").

Any Way Around Lyric Licensing?

Lorenz Hart: one great lyricist

Dear Rich: I want to start a lyric website that would link to a reference site like Wikipedia. Would I need a linking agreement or have to pay a fee? I am considering framing as an option as well.  I was wondering if there was any way around leasing the lyrics from publishing companies  or from a website that provides a leasing API such as Lyricfind. 
You shouldn't run into a problem (or have to pay a fee, or have to sign an agreement) when linking to a publicly accessible web page. Hypertext linking--like this--only causes  a problem if:

• you're linking to infringing material,
• you agreed to a license agreement that prohibits linking, or 
• you're confusing consumers --for example, users believe, your site is the source of the framed content.

Licensing the lyrics. We don't know of any legal way around licensing lyrics. Having said that, we are also aware of the hundreds of unauthorized lyric sites on the web. The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), prodded by "squeaky wheel" songwriters has ramped up its pursuit of pirate lyric sites reaching settlements with sites such as RapGenius and LiveUniverse while it continues to pursue others. In other words, unauthorized users may fly below the radar ... but as page views increase, so do the chances of being hassled.