Exactly how do you go about making a POOR MAN'S COPYRIGHT ??

Question

Just need to know the steps to make a POOR MAN'S COPYRIGHT for a few peoms & songs I have written - I thought I knew how to do it - but someone told me I was wrong -LOL so Please advize me on exactly what to do - Thanks SO Much

Sorry I mean Poems - LOL

Answer 1

Dear; I think that you might not get the proper response on this page. I would check with the higher education pages here on Yahoo Answers. I can bet you will find your answer there. I hope this was helpful

Answer 2

You don't need to do anything other than create the work. You own the copyright to it. You can register later for additional protection, but it is not required. (Patents are different - if you publish before filing, you have a problem.) See my source, especially page three under the title Copyright Secured Automatically upon Creation, which is followed by the text: The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright.

Answer 3

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."

To properly register it, 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.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 4

Take whatever you have written, sign and date it in your handwriting, not typed, copy it, put it in an envelope and mail it to yourself. It will have to get a postmark on it with the date. If your work is ever plagiarized, you can use the sealed envelope with a federal date stamped on it and your work in it as evidence you were the first to do it. Now, if the thief has a decent lawyer, this won't hold up, but thats the best way to do it without a lot of paperwork and money being spent.

Answer 5

The letter you mail to yourself must remain unopened.
http://www.songwritersresourcenetwork.com/copyrights.html
http://www.copyright.gov/forms/
Read this about the poor mans copyright
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#poorman
Its 45 dollars for application. Put all your poems and songs in a book. Then copyright the book. That way the book will be copyrighted for $45.00? can you do this? The music from the song will not be copyrighted yet. Just the lyrics.

Answer 6

follow above instructions but place the stamp over where you seal the envelope