Proprietary Rights, The Legal Components

The ISBN, the International Standard Book Number

       The ISBN, or International Standard Book Number is an digitally readable number giving each book a unique identifier intended to assist the international community in identifying and ordering certain publications. The ISBN is administered by the R. R. Bowker Company. The concept behind an international numbering system for books was developed at the Third International Conference on Book Market Research and Rationalization in the Book Trade, held in Berlin in 1966. It was eventually developed out of the book numbering system introduced in the United Kingdom in 1967 by adapting the British system for international use. The purpose of the international standard is to coordinate and standardize the international use of ISBNs to uniquely identify one title or edition of a title, from one specific publisher, and is unique to that edition.
       The ISBN should be printed on the copyright page in a font size between 9 and 12 points, and on the lower right hand corner of the back cover of your book as an electronically readable barcode. If you're using a dust jacket, the ISBN should also be on the upper edge of the left hand flap. If your product includes a disk or cassette, the ISBN should be printed on the label.
       The only draw back for an author is that R. R. Bowker will only sell a minimum of 10 ISBN numbers at a time for over $200, and the barcode for each number costs $10.  

An Example of a Properly Formatted Barcode
Containing an ISBN Number

►  The ISBN number is proceeded by the ISBN acronym, here being 0-9724347-0-4.
►  The 52095 is a price code, with the 5 representing the US $ (dollar) sign, and the 2095 representing 20.95. 
►  This price code can be left blank if the publisher prefers no price be place on the book but this is not recommended if the book is to be sold in brick and mortar stores.  The price code is the only way the store knows what to charge for your book.
►  The meaning of the lower numbers can be learned through the links provided below.

How To Get An ISBN (About.com)

What ISBN FAQ (About.com)

How To Get An ISBN In Canada (About.com)

ISBN Application Process (Includes the only acceptable application form)