What do you have to get trademarked or Copywritten?

Question

I wanna be a cartoonist, I got these great characters but before I show anyone I wanna get them copywritten. Who do I do it, Do I have to just trademark the name of the show or do I have too copwrite every single character?

Answer 1

To *register* a copyright (technically, its copywritten when you write it), you send a copy of the work (strips, book, whatever) along with a form and $45 to the U.S. Copyright Office.

Trademarks are a bit more complicated (not to mention expensive). You generally have to show that you've used whatever you're trademarking in commerce, and send samples in.

The websites of the Copyright and Patent & Trademark Offices are below - both have good FAQ's on when you do and don't have to register your work.