Copyright theft is a big problem for authors. When you publish your book, it can potentially be illegally copied and stolen without your knowledge, or used without your permission, at any time.

To protect your book against this type of common illegal activity, Schiel & Denver Book Publishers is proud to offer authors who work with the company a unique Copyright Protection Service (CPS) that enables our experienced publishing attorneys to investigate cases where you believe your work has been stolen or used without your permission.

In the event of a copyright theft, Schiel & Denver Book Publishers can take legal action on your behalf against the infringing parties, paying for all the costs. With illegal copying, plagiarism and piracy a growing problem across the world, many of our authors consider the CPS subscription to be an essential investment in protecting their work, and as important as the international copyright notice ©.

How Do I Purchase The Copyright Protection Service?

Call or email your book publishing team at 832-699-0264 who will arrange for a subscription to the Copyright Protection Service to be added to your author account.

Who Is Eligble To Subscribe To CPS?

You need to be a Schiel & Denver author, with a signed Author Agreement. You can purchase this service before or after your book has been officially published by Schiel & Denver. Contact your desk editor for more information.

What Else Can I Do To Protect My Work?

Schiel & Denver Book Publishers strongly recommends that authors have our legal dept register their work with the U.S. Copyright Office, and at least  one other organization - such as Oxford and Cambridge University, to help you prove copyright ownership in the event of a dispute. You can also request Schiel & Denver produce a digitally watermarked professional CD/DVD archive of your book for safe keeping with your attorney and/or secure vault.

How Does The Copyright Protection Service Work?

When Schiel & Denver receives a complaint from an author who has an active CPS subscription, we will start processing it. You will be allocated a case officer and we will tell you who that is within a few days of receiving the complaint. The case officer will review your complaint and may ask you to provide further information or clarification. If additional information is required, we will contact you as soon as possible.

The most important factor in establishing your claim in any dispute is having verifiable proof of the date and content for your book. Your case officer will need to gather evidence and may ask you for supporting documentation which may include:

1. A copy of the infringing work

   Obtaining a copy of the infringing work will prove valuable if the other party later changes the content in an attempt to deny your claim. The infringing work should be substantially similar in design, structure or content, to the degree that it can be proved that the work was copied or adapted from your original, rather than simply a similar idea or concept.

2. Evidence of Registration

   The success or failure of your case, particularly if it proceeds into a U.S. court of law, will rely on the quality of the evidence and being able to show the work was original to you. Schiel & Denver offers registration services, including registration with the U.S. Copyright Office, registration with the Cataloguing-In-Publication Service, and Oxford and Cambridge University Libraries. If you have a watermarked CD version kept in a safe or with your own attorney, this is valuable.

3. Other Supporting Documents

   Any letters or other documents referring to the work before the date of infringement. Rough drafts, previous versions, synopsis etc. These represent what is called evolution of ideas and are good as evidence to demonstrate that you developed the work from your own ideas.

What Action Can Schiel & Denver Book Publishers Take?

Due to the fact that you have granted Schiel & Denver a non-exclusive license to publish your work, through our author agreement, our legal team can take certain forms of legal action on your behalf.

For authors who have a CPS subscription, Schiel & Denver can:

1. Contact the infringer

   The first step is to make the infringer aware of your objection and put forward a reasonable settlement and time scale to reach a suitable settlement.

2. Undertake legal action

   If Schiel & Denver Book Publishers considers that the copyright in your Work has been infringed, we shall after giving you notice of such infringement, be at liberty to take such steps as we may consider necessary for dealing with the matter. This may include taking legal proceedings, after giving you an undertaking in writing to pay all costs and expenses and to indemnify you against all liability for costs. Schiel & Denver may need to use your Author's name as a party to instigate such legal proceedings, but at the same time we will need to control, settle or compromise as we see fit.

   Schiel & Denver shall further be entitled to take urgent proceedings in our own sole name for interlocutory relief without prior notice to you. Any profits or damages which may be received in respect of any infringement of the copyright shall after deduction of all costs and expenses be divided equally between you and Schiel & Denver.

Hotline/How to file a complaint

Report suspected copyright theft directly to Schiel & Denver Headquarters via the Report A Copyright Violation Form. The toll-free telephone number, 832-699-0264, is manned by Schiel & Denver staff Monday through Friday from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. EST. You may also wish to contact your own attorney.

Schiel & Denver's friendly book publishing professionals are available to help you choose the right mix of book publishing services and products for your book. Open a ticket with our 24/7 author support department to discuss your book publishing options.