Types of Dual Authorship

• 1). Supposing the authors of the book each contributed original material, the book is considered jointly authored, belonging to both. It is already protected by copyright law as soon as it is "fixed" in tangible form. Fixed means on a disc, on a hard drive, on a server site or as a hard copy. If it is fixed only audibly, it is considered an audiobook and is categorized differently.
  
  
• 2). If one author contributes original work to the book, but the other author's work already existed, the book is considered a derivative work. Assuming he has permission to use the original, the second author only owns copyright for his contribution. A book containing derivative work might be an annotated, reworked, re-edited or expanded version.
  
  
• 3). If the book is a work-made-for-hire, it belongs to whomever hired the authors. An employer may own a book written by two employees for their work at the company. Unless the authors have formed another arrangement before writing the book, the employer owns it.
  
  
• 4). If one or both authors transfer all or part of their rights in the book, the ownership may be more complex, depending upon the terms of and how the transfer occurred. In this situation, consulting a copyright attorney is wise.
  
  

Registering the Book

• 1). If the authors want to be certain their ownership of the book cannot be questioned, they should register it with the U.S. Copyright Office.
  
  
• 2). To register the book, authors must file a claim to copyright, which can be done online; deposit a copy of the book; and pay a small fee.
  
  
• 3). Authors should check the U.S. Copyright Office Web site for current requirements because registration forms, fees and deposit requirements can change.
  
  

Adding a Copyright Notice

• 1
  Part of the copyright noticeblack copyright symbol image by Angie Chauvin from Fotolia.com
  
  Authors should put a copyright symbol on their book.
  
  
• 2). The copyright symbol for a book should be: 1. ©, "Copyright" or "Copr."; 2. Year of first publication of the book; and 3. name(s) or recognizable abbreviations of authors' names. The U.S. Copyright Office site gives examples and recommendations about placement of the notice.
  
  
• 3). After the book is registered, the U.S. Copyright Office will issue a certificate of copyright containing both authors' names.