Amazon wanting pen name documentation?

[Eroticalover1968]

Hi folks. Have any of you been asked to provide Amazon with copyright proof of a pseudonym? I'm baffled here. From what I read online it's a $35 dollar charge and worse they want it in four days. All I did was upload a new book cover for a four year old ebook and now this happened. Any info appreciated.

 

[sr71plt]

No, with over 200 titles on Amazon, I haven't encountered that. But I work with publishers. If you are self-publishing there, that might be the reason. Certainly if someone from out of the blue wants to change the file that was published in another name, Amazon very likely would like to see some proof of ownership. They probably do (mistakenly) assume that everyone has gotten a copyright on the works they are putting up on Amazon.

 

[oggbashan]

Hi folks. Have any of you been asked to provide Amazon with copyright proof of a pseudonym? I'm baffled here. From what I read online it's a $35 dollar charge and worse they want it in four days. All I did was upload a new book cover for a four year old ebook and now this happened. Any info appreciated.

1. Did you create the book cover yourself?
2. Or is it copyright free and someone else's work that you have adapted?
3. Or did you just download a picture from the internet?

If your answer is 2 or 3 I can understand WHY Amazon is asking the question.

 

[Eroticalover1968]

The book's covers are my own doodlings, so I don't see the problem. I did some research and it seems I can register my pen name for free because I'm in Canada. Maybe the problem is because the book in question contains mostly edited stories I've posted on this site.

 

[oggbashan]

The books covers my own doodlings, so I don't see the problem. I did some research and it seems I can register my pen name for free because I'm Canandian. Maybe it's because the book in question mostly consists of edited stories I posted here.

Canada follows the Berne Convention so your copyright is implicit from the moment of creation.

The United States says it follows the Berne Convention but in practice does not recognise copyright unless and until it is registered IN the United States and the appropriate fee has been paid.

Amazon is US based.

 

[sr71plt]

The book's covers are my own doodlings, so I don't see the problem. I did some research and it seems I can register my pen name for free because I'm in Canada. Maybe the problem is because the book in question contains mostly edited stories I've posted on this site.

The problem is that what you "know" isn't the same thing as what Amazon "knows."

 

[Eroticalover1968]

Canada follows the Berne Convention so your copyright is implicit from the moment of creation.

The United States says it follows the Berne Convention but in practice does not recognise copyright unless and until it is registered IN the United States and the appropriate fee has been paid.

Amazon is US based.

Oh man, there goes my Amazon profits then. But that's the way it goes I guess. Thanks for the advice.

 

[oggbashan]

Oh man, there goes my Amazon profits then. But that's the way it goes I guess. Thanks for the advice.

There's possibly more to it than that. If you are trying to sell on Amazon stories that have already appeared for free on Literotica, even if they are your own work, Amazon may reject your stories because they are/were available elsewhere cheaper than on Amazon.

But others are better able to advise about Amazon's policies than me.

 

[Eroticalover1968]

Okay. I just got off the phone with a Canadian gov't office and they tell me I need to download copyright application forms and register the copyright under my pseudonym. The cost is $55 or $65 depending on if it's email or regular mail. And even then who knows if that will do, as it's not American. So, oh no, boohoo, I can't sell there. But seriously, I messaged Amazon and I'll wait and see.

 

[Dream_Operator]

Okay. I just got off the phone with a Canadian gov't office and they tell me I need to download copyright application forms and register the copyright under my pseudonym. The cost is $55 or $65 depending on if it's email or regular mail. And even then who knows if that will do, as it's not American. So, oh no, boohoo, I can't sell there. But seriously, I messaged Amazon and I'll wait and see.

You can register your piece in the US at the Electronic Copyright Office (eCO), United States Copyright Office, Library of Congress

Electronic Copyright Office

They accept pdf (and other file types). Not sure how much it costs.

 

[Eroticalover1968]

I followed the link and filled out the forms. It'll be $55usd to finish, just for anyone who might be curious about the cost of things. Thanks for the help, people