I have in mind to write a fairy tales book, made up of text and drawings, which i would like to present to a publisher. how can i do it without incurring the risk of being copied?

An intellectual work, such as a book, is automatically protected by the regulation on copyright, which guarantees, to whoever makes it, both the right of economical exploitation and the moral right to be recognised as the author. However, in order to claim these rights, you must actually have created the book, it is insufficient to just be thinking of making it. So, just the fact of having in mind a good story for a fairy tale book, and a particular kind of illustrations is not enough to get protection, as it is necessary to put the thought into practice. Initially it is possible to have a description of the structure of the book and some sketches of drawings to put forward to some publishers, but it is only on the finished work that claims can be made. It is obvious that the more the work is at the stage of just an “idea” the less guarantees there are, therefore the first piece of advice is to bring the text to the most advanced level, if not yet finished, describing all the details. Notwithstanding, as previously said, that the copyright is guaranteed “per se”, it is recommendable, before presenting it to a publishing house, to deposit a copy of the book at the SIAE as unpublished work. It is sufficient to apply to the local office of the SIAE by consulting the web site www.siae.it, collect or download the appropriate forms for this kind of deposit, fill them in and send them to Rome together with a copy of the book, fully underwritten in details. This deposit, which is not at all costly, is valid for 5 years and can be renewed, one month prior to expiry, for an equal length of time.