How do I copyright my poem to use or sell online?

Answer 1

Your poem was copyrighted the minute you wrote it.

If you want to register your copyright, you must fill out the copyright registration forms and send them with a copy of your work and $45.00 to the US Library of Congress Copyright Office.

Go to this Web page, it shows where to download the forms and the correct addresses to use to send them in.

The US Copyright Office, and many legal advisors, often say that the "poor man's copyright' has no legal standing and is not evidence. The US Copyright Office say this in their FAQ:

"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."

Since your work is copyright under your name the moment you write it, there is no need for that the poor man's copyright.

Answer 2

If you don't want to go through the copyright office, do this: Put the poem/work of art on a disk, put it in the US Mail with a clear post date, and mail it to yourself. When it arrives, put it in a safe place and never open it. Unless, that is, in a court of law before a judge and jury as some yahoo gets sued by you for theft of a protected work of art. This is known as the poor mans copyright and it will stand up in court.

Answer 3

In most jurisdictions, Copyright is granted as soon as you write it. No registration required. Registration is only a means of proving when you wrote it, because it all boils down to who wrote it first. So all those suggestions to mail it to yourself is quite sound because the post office date has a presumption to be correct. You can also try posting it on the internet with a copyright notice at the bottom (I'm assuming theres some way to prove when you posted it.)

But registration is really the best way to do it, if you plan any commercial ventures using your creation. It would give your authorship a much stronger presumption of regularity.

Answer 4

As long as you've written/typed/printed your idea in a tangible form... it's copyrighted.

If you find registering it officially too troublesome, try Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org)... It's a place you can get licences all from the comfort of your home. It also allows you to customise the copyright terms to your liking.

Great for people in the creative industry who find full copyright terms too restrictive.

Answer 5

Well i dont know if this is copyrighting but what i do with my material is I mail it to myself in an envelope and when i recieve it i file it unopened.That way the date is on the envelope and proves that i created said material on or around the post marked date. It protects you if someone tries to steal your material in the future.