Copy-Editor as Lawyer
From “Preparing the Text for the Typesetter¨ in Butcher’s Copy-Editing
The copy-editor is one of the few people who read a book or journal thoroughly before publication, and an incidental but extremely important part of the copy-editor’s role is to keep an eye open for any legal problems, […]
It is important when reading the folio to address concerns related to:
- The privacy rights, accreditation/attribution, and “derogation¨of the author through the editorial process done on his work. Any editorial changes must then be approved by the author. This does not apply for “collective works of reference¨ extracting from an author’s work, save other concerns (Butcher 2006, 28-29).
- The acquisition of the necessary permissions to use copyright works, and the appropriate acknowledgements of such works. The incorporation of material from an unacknowledged work as if one’s own constitutes plagiarism, but may not constitute copyright infringement insofar as permission was given for use of the material (Butcher 2006, 29).
- The presence of libel, i.e. of a published untrue statement tending to discredit a (typically contemporary, typically living) person, group of people, society, or company in the eyes of reasonable members of society. The publisher would have to prove that the statement is in fact true for it to not be libel. As editor, make sure the author or publisher have done due diligence (Butcher 2006, 29).
- The presence of “negligent mis-statements,¨ i.e. advice, information, or instruction one can reasonably assume readers will or may act upon that is inaccurate due to factual incorrectness or factual omission (Butcher 2006, 30).
editing copy-editing law publishing integrity accreditation attribution author_attribution legal_rights copyright_infringement copy-editor privacy_rights integrity_rights law
bibliography
- “Preparing the Text for the Typesetter.” In Butcher’s Copy-Editing: The Cambridge Handbook for Editors, Copy-Editors and Proofreaders, 4th ed., 28–68. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2006.