How do I copyright images that I drew for free???

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

Simply state the copyright. There is no paperwork or government agencies involved. Usually, a little (c) after or before your signature will suffice. You created it, the copyright is automatically yours.

If you sell your work (like you sold a painting to a collector) the copyright is STILL YOURS.

If you sell publishing rights to your work (you get published in a calendar, on a coffee mug, as a poster) read the fine print. You want to sell first publishing rights, meaning the right to publish your work returns to you after the initial publishing. Some publishers will collect the work and never return the rights. It's all in the fine print.

If you create a piece of art while being paid to create the art, you do not own the copyright, your employer does. Nothing changes that.

A copyright is very difficult to enforce. By copying your art and then changing some minor details, a company or individual can bypass the copyright and market your work as their own. In order to better protect your work, you could trademark it. But that DOES involve paperwork and government agencies. Furthermore, it is very difficult to prove that the use of trees in landscapes is a technique and subjectmatter that you invented - if you get my drift.

If you do manage to trademark a technique or an artistic trait, you still need to enforce it through legal venues. Despair.com trademarked the un-smiley face :-( which means that every time you or I use " :-( " in public writing (this includes any post on the internet, even email) we could be sued. However, once we get to court we could insist that the un-smiley face pre-existed despair.com and it is therefore not reasonable to expect the general public to desist from using it. We would probably win. Not good for despair.com - if indeed it decided to sue us, which it won't, precisely because it would be impossible to win.

Answer 3

Mail the images to yourself, Leave the envelope sealed, The postmark on the unopened letter is your proof of date. Its called a poor man's copyright. Remember leave it sealed.

Answer 4

http://www.uspto.gov/main/profiles/copyright.htm

It's not free and it's not cheap. There's paperwork involved and most likely an attorney who doesn't work cheap either.

Answer 5

copyright.gov