How to get your work copyrighted.
61It's Yours, Just Claim It
You don't have to do anything fancy to own the copyright on something you write. It's automatic, as long as you are the author, you are the owner of the copyright.
To make it official, you need to write these three things on the document the first time you commit it to a fixed format (like a computer file or printed paper):
1) The copyright symbol, the letter C with a circle around it, like ©
2) The year of publication, that is, when you first created the work.
3) Your name
Officially, that's all it takes. Now, if you are looking for extra protection, like PROOF that you copyrighted a certain work at a certain time, then you need to register the copyright -- but it's technically NOT required that you do that.
To register your copyright, go to www.copyright.gov, fill out the application form, and send it in with your document and the application fee, currently $35 if you do it online, or $45 if you use real paper.
Really, it's that simple. If you go to www.copyright.gov they have a huge FAQ that will answer any question you can think of, so there's no point my writing anything else here!
Good luck with your writing,
Sam Reichgott
P.S. This hub is copyright © 2008 Sam Reichgott
There, see how easy that was!
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Comments
I think there's another easy way to copyright and have proof. A publisher once told me that you can copyright written work by sealing your work in an envelope, then mailing it to yourself and keeping it sealed. In this way you have your work sealed and officially dated by the post office. I can't imagine why this wouldn't still hold true, but perhaps times have changed.
Louise,
How to get the copyright symbol depends on your editor.
In MicroSoft Word, use the Insert menu, and click on Special Character, then find the symbol and double-click it. Other editors like the HubPages text editor have something similar, you have to hunt for it.
In raw HTML you would use ©
That's an ampersand, followed by the word copy, followed by a semicolon.
If all else fails, I believe it is adequate to use left and right parenthesis, especially if you preceed it with the word copyright, as in
Copyright (C) 2008 Sam Reichgott
I have even used an editor that recognized the key sequence (C) and automatically substituted the special character. It may have been Word, with automatic spell-check turned on, but I'm not positive about that.
In answering your follow-up question I came across this website that may be useful: http://www.copyrightauthority.com/copyright-symbol
And as for mailing the piece to yourself, I really don't know about that. Check the government's copyright website sited in the original hub, maybe they comment on that. My intuition says it's a waste of a stamp because the piece inside the envelope doesn't get the postmark, only the envelope does, so you would still be stuck proving you actually mailed it once the envelope was opened. But that's just me thinkin'.
Sam
Hi Sam, yes the most important part is to never open the envelope so that it remains sealed with a date on it. I'll check into it further though. Thanks!
The post office calls it a poor man's copyright or a poorman's patent. You address the package to yourself, seal it and go to the post office. Most postal workers will recognize the poor man's copyright or a poorman's patent but if they don't you can simply explain what you need. They confirm it's a sealed envelope and cancel the stamp. It's not exactly perfect but it will hold up in court if you ever have a dispute over stealing someone's intellectual property so long as they can't show they originated the idea before you did. My sister learned about it in the Army and she and her husband use it for house plans, poetry, art and other things they create. Even ideas for tools and equipment. She was a helicopter mechanic and she and her coworkers would come up with ideas and improvements for tools and engines all the time. This is how they protected those ideas.
LouiseKnittel says:
16 months ago
Thanks so much for answering this Hub request so fast! I gave ya a thumbs up.. One more question how do I make the little c in the cirlce on my computer?