How does one go about getting something copywritten?

Question

Simple steps or some good how-to websites would be appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

Oh, this is so incredibly simple: go to the souce,the US Copyright Office. (Link below). It will explain everything you need to know about what copyright is, how to register it, etc. Plenty of FAQs to answer all your questions. It's true that copyright exists in a work from the moment you finish it (thus the little c in a circle you can put on it to show people that you know you've got copyright), but you still have to register it if you want complete legal protection.

BTW, don't fall for that old thing about "just stick it in an envelope and mail it to yourself." If you ever had to go to court to defend your copyright, "poor man's copyright" is completely useless...

Answer 2

Not quite sure what you mean. Do you want something copywritten? As in written for you? There are any number of writers who will be happy to work with you, or work for you.
If you want to write something yourself, there are writing courses you can take, journalism degrees you can complete, or writer's groups you can join (contact your local library to find out who to contact for writing groups).
If you want to copyright something that you have written, so no one else can claim it as theirs, that is a simple process. If you live in the US, go to the US copyright office (or google up their website) and register your work. You will have to send them a copy of it, and that will protect your work against plagerism fore a certain number of years.
There is something called the 'poor man's copyright' as well. You simply make a copy of whatever you have written, take it to the post office and mail it to yourself, registered mail, and then when it arrives, put it away in a safe place AND DO NOT OPEN IT. This proves that you wrote it prior to the date on which you mailed it, and if someone else comes up with something very similar, you can prove you were the original author.
At one time, you could simply mail it to yourself, and use the post mark as proof of the date, but post marks aren't always that clear with the high speed processing techniques, so registering it gives double proof of when you mailed it.
Good luck!

Answer 3

You don't need websites, getting a copyright is easy, just call 411 for the toll free number to The Library Of Congress in Washington DC, they'll send you everything you need, the websites will lead you straight to where I'm sending you.

Answer 4

This site tells you how to register a copyright:

http://poetry-magazine.com/poetry/poetry-005/04page.htm

But it doesn't have to be registered. Anything you write is automatically copyrighted to you...and some agencies that you can submit work to will not print materials with the copyright symbol because they think the writer is too afraid of his/her work being stolen and is more likely to sue claiming that the work was stolen.

Answer 5

Do you mean copyrighted, as in protected by copyright? Or copywritten, as when a guy at an ad agency writes something for you?

Answer 6

Send it through the mail so that it has a post mark on it.

Answer 7

RE:
How does one go about getting something copywritten?
Simple steps or some good how-to websites would be appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 8

you put a little c with a circle around it.