I wish to copyright a specific character, how would I go about this?

Question

I created a character who I draw often, and am seriously planning to make a comic book (specificly manga) out of her. (I'd also like to make a clothing line and othe merchandise. Yeah, I'm thinking big here.) Her name's Agatha.
Agatha doesn't want to get kidnapped or cloned by some crazy untalented author/artist/whatever, and wants some information on how to protect herself, how much it will cost, etc. As of now, I'm just a 15-year-old who wants to keep Agatha and her friends out of danger until I finally manage to live up to all my ambitious dreams. What's the best way to do this, without hiding her from the world until the molment comes? She's a very social zombie and doesn't like to hide in closets-- And I like showing her off after all.
I am aware that everything is copyrighted and blablabla, but I guess I basicly just want to register her or something. Like I said, I'm 15 and probably don't have many options. Please use small words, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Answer 1

First draw a picture (along with character info) and put it in an envelope and mail it to yourself. THEN NEVER OPEN THE ENVELOPE. This is not a foolproof legally binding claim to the character, but if you are ever in a legal argument regarding who used this character first then you have proof of how early you were using the character (because of the postmark). This will tide you over until you can get a copyright.

(Go to the federal copyright website www.copyright.gov) for detailed info on how to do this. It will probably cost you a couple hundred bucks.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Last time I submitted a formal copyright, it cost $10 bucks. That was ten years ago, and it covered a graphic novel with all characters intact, as well as a plot outline for an entire series, with the first 45 pages submitted as the first installment.

If you want a formal copyright, you should copyright the character and a character profile in some detail to cover all of your bases. If you have a story plot, you may want to get a formal copyright separate from it for each story you write.

If you plan to do more than stories with the character, you would definitely want to make her as a logo, a mascot, or some other protected entity so that nobody else can claim it.