I presume that registering using a pseudonym just means that the ‘outside world’ will only be able to access the pen name, i.e., will not be able to get access to any more, confidential, information in the registrations document(s).
There has to be a part of the registration forms which have the author’s real name and contact information.
We are going to have to agree to differ.
I think the most intelligent way to approach something like this (and most knowledge acquisition) is to simultaneously and judiciously explore and exploit as many relevant avenues as possible - including reading “the official government laws”.
That way, people who know more than I know can point me better directions, and can explain things better than I might understand them, and that would lead to possibilities I would not have considered.
Of course, one has to decide what is most useful, and there is going to be learning about incorrect information.
If I only read official government laws (and which “government”?), I would be missing out on potential possibilities in other territories and contexts.
Lots more could be said about this, but narrowing one’s search as you suggest is going to return very “thin” results, to use an anthropological metaphor.
Considering that it will be the government that will be enforcing the copyright laws then they have the last say.
As to which government that depends on where you main market is, where you want to copyright your book and which jurisdictions have enforceable laws.
For example, India has copyright laws, but they are a lot harder to enforce and are widely flouted. I came a cross a book in which the author had just copied and pasted several pages of an article I had written. A clear violation of copyright but after consulting with lawyers I realized there was nothing I could do so I dropped it.
So you may want to consult with a copyright lawyer to avoid future headaches.
Anonymity may have more to do with the publisher being willing to keep your identity secret.
Elena Ferrante is the pseudonym of an Italian novelist whose identity is yet unknown to the public.
And then are works like The Story of O whose real author was not revealed till 40 years after it was published.
This kind of secrecy is only possible with the aid of the publisher.
This depends on the jurisdiction. There has to be a contactable legal entity. But there are a number of ways to build a veil between that entity and the actual human author.
If remuneration is going to happen, then the publisher would have to have a way to contact the real author, so there has to be some kind of ‘link’ between the pseudonym and the real author’s name and contact information for that to happen.
The publisher has to know where to send the check and who the payee is. Accepting/disbursing funds is the sort of thing that law offices and accountants do for anonymous clients all the time.
Has anyone had any experience filing an unpublished manuscript with the European Union for copyright registration?
Either with the EUIPO, EU Copyright Office, or other entity?
I’m not sure with whom or where is the appropriate site to register … any hints would be appreciated.
Thanks,
scrive
