Before sending your manuscript to a Publisher, Literary Agent, Magazine, or even putting it up for criticism on one of the websites recommended on this site (see Alternative Ways of getting Published), you need to know your rights and how to protect your work. The following list provides a good starting place for researching this:

Before you Publish:

Australian Copyright Council (a must visit for Australian authors that has all you need to know about copyright in Australia. Of special interest is their up to date news blog concerning copyright, and the PDF covering protection of ideas which is a very complex often grey area of risk for authors, especially those working within the New Media framework of the Web)

Copy Fights: the Future of Intellectual Property Protection in the Information Age, ed. Adam Thierer and Wayne Crews (Washington: Cato Institute, 2002, 295) (an important book outlining and discussing the issues of Copyright in a globalized and New Media based world) A review of this article can be found at foreignaffairs.org

IP Australia (an excellent introduction to ways of protecting your intellectual property from being copied including an explanation of the differences between Patents, Trade Marks, Design Protection, and Copyright)

I P Law Advisor (a website dedicated to keeping abreast of the issues surrounding the protection of ideas and your work)

James Cook University - Students and Intellectual Property (a step by step account outlining what is protected in your work and what is not. Includes an important part on idea protection and New Media concerns)

O'Reilly's Publishers (offers an interesting explanation from a Publisher's perspective about the protection of authors' ideas, and offers an explanation as to why a Publisher would not steal ideas from prospective authors)

The Patry Copyright Blog (an area on the web for discussions relating to copyright issues)

UC Copyright (the University of California's summary of copyright)

United States Intellectual Property Law Overview (an important introduction to the protection of ideas and work in the US)

Once you have been invited to Publish:

Problems with Publisher Contracts

The Legalities of having your work Published

CopyLaw.com (an introduction to what you need to know before signing any contract)

The Code of Practice: Publishers' Dealings with Authors (an insight into as to how a publisher should be approaching you and treating you and your work)

Publisher Book Contracts (an excellent explanation of the terms used in publishing contracts)