You automatically own the copyright to anything you write under U.S. law in most circumstances, and the trick is preserving those rights, even when you're self-publishing a book. If, on the other hand, you wish to publish someone else's work, you need to purchase the rights from an author to distribute and sell the author's work. What rights you purchase depend on your plans for the work, and how much you wish to spend.
Instructions
1. Determine what rights you need. Normally, you will need need an exclusive right to publish the work in a book form, and to duplicate it electronically in various formats. The author may wish to retain other rights such as foreign publication rights or the right to produce derivative works.
2. Negotiate the rights and the price. Don't depend on a standard agreement. There may be unique circumstances that affect the transfer of rights, such as the author's wish to publish a chapter in an academic journal.
3. Get it in writing. Often the copyright notice is in the author's name, and any transfer of rights needs to be spelled out in a separate agreement. Attorney Ivan Hoffman, an expert on publishing law, writes on his website that the written agreement must allow the publisher "to have, exclusively, all of the rights necessary for the publisher to fully exploit the work, notwithstanding that the creator retains the right of copyright."
4. Obtain an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), a number that uniquely identifies books and book-like products. R.R. Bowker as the ISBN agency in the U.S. sells these number identifiers in groups of 10 to publishers. Other companies may offer single ISBNs, but those companies are then listed as the publisher, not you.
5. Produce the book directly with a printer or through an author services company. Some companies specialize in niche publishers and self-publishers without asking for any rights. Author services or vanity press companies, however, may require rights you don't wish to give.
6. Register the copyright for the book, including rights transfer agreements, with the U.S. Copyright Office by submitting an application and a filing fee, and providing a copy or copies of the work being registered and deposited with the Copyright Office. Although registration is not required, it does offer legal advantages if you need to bring suit for copyright infringement.
