Copyright- How to have your work/writings copyrighted?

Question

Is there an inexpensive way to have your work/writings copyrighted?

Answer 1

It depends on what you mean by inexpensive. Copyrighting an item and getting a formal 'stamp of approval' costs money.
However, just putting notice that the item is copyrighted is in itself a copyright.
Works can be submited for deposit to the Library of Congess (I believe the fee is 15 dollars). Deposit gives you the copyright, but failure to deposit does not preclude the copyright.
Writing your original work on paper and dating it is the proof of copyright needed.
Copyright REGISTRATION is a whole different thing. The registration through the Library of Congress will get you a registration number - that is when you submit to the LOC for deposit.

Answer 2

From the US Lib of Congress website - You don't have to do anything, actually - simply by creating a work, you have the copyright. Depending on how valuable it is, you may want to seek additional protection such as copyright registration so if someone violates your copyright, you may be entitled to recover more than had you not registered.

Sending a copy of your own work to yourself will not protect you. This is called a "poor man's copyright." The US Lib of Congress Copyright Office says that there's no provision in the law for this and that it is NOT a subsitution for registration.

Visit:

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#poorman

The FAQs from the US Lib of Congress Copyright Office will tell you everything you need to know, and more:

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html

Here's a bunch of Q & A's posted there as well:

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

Answer 3

Not the best way....the best way is the formal process. But in the meantime if you place your works in an envelope, have an unrelated individual sign over the seal of the envelope (or in any other way make it so you would know if the envelope was ever opened), and mail it to yourself, and then DO NOT OPEN it. This way you could attempt to prove they were yours during the time you are waiting for an official copyright if there was a problem.

The previous idea of getting it notarized seems like a good idea too.

Answer 4

Depending on the country you are in, technically things are copywrited as soon as you write it. The issue become proving you wrote it first, which is where registering the copywrite comes from. Now if you really need to save money, you could take what you wrote to a local notary and pay them to notorize the original copy. That would prove you wrote it no later than that day and anyone trying to steal it would have to find a dishonest notary who would be willing to commit perjury and face the penatlies for it just so they could get an earlier date on their notary.

Answer 5

When I send my writings to my publishers, they do the copywriting automatically for me : ).

Answer 6

no