Is there a legal website where i can copyright my poems, before i pose them online?

Answer 1

You can do this at the US Copyright Office – see the last 2 links in the source box. The application is fairly simple & the cost is $45 per application.

Despite what others state, a "poor man's" copyright is NOT the same as registering it. Here's what the US Copyright Office has to say:

"The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a 'poor man’s copyright.' There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration."

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 2

Short answer:

There is not a website like you describe as such but the government does maintain a website where you can get the right forms. http://www.copyright.gov/forms

Long answer:

Background: A copyright registration is, at its most basic, a legal formality intended to make a public record of the basic facts of a particular copyright (not entirely unlike filing a UCC-1 to secure your rights in collateral). While registration is not a condition of copyright protection, it makes sense for several reasons, including but not limited to: (i) establishing a public record of the copyright claim; (ii) fulfilling a predicate for filing an infringement claim; and (iii) serves as prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate (if filed within 5 years of publication)

Registration may be made at any time within the life of the copyright, and for works created since 1978, it is not necessary to make another registration when the work becomes published (though, if published, you may later register the published edition).

Process: To register an original work, send three things to the library of congress: (i) a properly completed application form (probably, for you, Form TX, available at http://www.copyright.gov/forms ); (ii) a nonreturnable deposit (copy) of the work being registered; and (iii) a check or money order for the filing fee (currently $30). Put all three of these together in a single envelope and send to Library of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20559-6000.

Note that other requirements apply to other media (e.g., if the work is a motion picture, you send in one complete copy of the unpublished or published motion picture and a separate written description of its contents, such as a continuity, press book, or synopsis).

Registration is effective on the date the Copyright Office receives all the required elements in acceptable form, regardless of how long it then takes to process the application and mail the certificate of registration. Unless you send the package CMRRR, you will not receive an acknowledgement of receipt, and likely will hear nothing from them until you get either a certificate of registration indicating that the work has been registered or a letter explaining why it has been rejected.

NB: While you are no longer required to use a copyright notice, doing so is a better practice because it serves as additional notice that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication. More importantly, in an infringement case, if a proper notice of copyright appears on the published copy, the defendant cannot plead innocent infringement as a defense.

As a practical matter, the notice for visually perceptible copies should contain all the following three elements: (i) the copyright symbol (the letter C in a circle), or the word "Copyright," or the abbreviation "Copr."; (ii) the year of first publication of the work; and (iii) the name of the owner of copyright in the work. For example, Copyright 2005 [your name]. If you put this in the footer of a printed page or immediately following the posted poem, it should be sufficient.

Good luck with your writing.

Answer 3

You can down load documents from the copyright office at the patent office...the short form costs $45 to copyright anything at the copyright office...an attorney will cost you anywhere from $300 to $1000 that is if you can find a cheap one...I hope this helped...

Answer 4

http://www.copyright.gov/

What does copyright protect?
Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed. See Circular 1, Copyright Basics, section "What Works Are Protected."

Does my work have to be published to be protected?
Publication is not necessary for copyright protection.

http://www.copyright.gov/register/litera...
Literary Works
Follow these steps to register your book, manuscript, online work, poetry, or other text:

Step 1
Make sure your work is a literary work. Literary works may be published or unpublished and include nondramatic textual works with or without illustrations. Computer programs and databases also are considered literary works. Here are more examples and specific information.

To register serials and periodicals, see the Serial Works instructions.

Step 2
Put into one envelope or package:

a completed application Form TX or Short Form TX and Form CON if needed (choose which form to use)
a $45 payment to "Register of Copyrights."
nonreturnable copy(ies) of the material to be registered. Read details on deposit requirements.
Please read this important notice about mail delivery disruption.

Step 3
Send the package to:

Library of Congress
Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

Your registration becomes effective on the day that the Copyright Office receives your application, payment, and copy(ies) in acceptable form. If your submission is in order, you will receive a certificate of registration in approximately 4 months.

For more details about copyright, please see our information circulars.

Answer 5

No. The writers guild will let you register with them, but for an actual copyright, you need to fill out a form and mail it in. It's pretty easy to do, and you can actually copywright several at the same time as a collection.

Answer 6

Just mail a copy to yourself and dont open it. Its not copyrighted, but it will legally hold up in court.

Answer 7

A free way to copyright is to mail it to yourself....the postmark will prove the time it was written, (just dont open it)!!! doh sum1 alredy said that.....yeah, good idea tho!!!lol

Answer 8

poetry.com You can copyright them there. My ex has a few cool and some nasty poems about me there lol. look him up. james baldrick

Answer 9

I dont really know.....Because copyrighted or not..you know ppl will still copy

Answer 10

yeah mailing it to your self will hold up in court, so legaly its yours.