Types of Copyright Law
You have created an original work, and want to protect your creation with a copyright. Works that can be copyrighted include: books, articles, staged works, music and lyrics, films, broadcasts, recordings, photos and art. Since there are several different copyright options, you want to find the one that best applies to you and your work.
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What is a Copyright?
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A copyright is legal protection provided by the U.S. government to you, the creator of an original work (known as an intellectual property). Copyright protection is available to you, whether your work is published or not.
Copyright does not protect your idea; it protects a finished version of your idea. It gives you exclusive rights to reproduce your work, prepare a derivative work based on the original, distribute copies or reproductions for sale, transfer ownership, lease or license, and perform or display the work publicly. And you can authorize these rights for others.
Automatic Copyright
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Copyright is automatic when you have made a finished (not published) version of your work. Neither publication nor registration is required to secure copyright. If your work is created over a period of time, the part of the work that you consider completed on a particular date legally constitutes the copyrighted work, as of that date.
Using the copyright symbol (©) is no longer required. A personal notice of copyright is up to you, as creator of the work. It is enough to write "Copyright," followed by the year of your work's first publication and your name.
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Poor Man's Copyright
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When you mail your work to yourself in a sealed envelope (which must remained sealed), the envelope's postmark constitutes a date of copyright. This is called a Poor Man's Copyright. But the U.S. Copyright Office states that this practice is not covered under copyright law and is not considered a substitute for registration. Remember, your creation of the work itself constitutes your copyright.
What is Preregistration?
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If you are in the process of creating a work that you believe may be infringed upon (or stolen) during the time of creation, you may preregister your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. This allows legal action to be taken to protect your work before an authorized version is fully registered and distributed.
Preregistration is not useful for most works. You may only preregister if your work is in the process of being prepared for commercial distribution, and preregistration is more expensive. Also, if you preregister your work, you still have to register it once it is done.
International Copyright
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An international copyright (one that automatically protects your work worldwide) does not exist. Protection against unauthorized use depends on individual laws of individual countries (although most countries do offer conditional protection to foreign works).
What is Not Protected by Copyright?
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Names and titles are not protected by copyright law. Neither are works in progress, improvised speeches, works derived from common knowledge, and performances that are not written or recorded. You can copyright your website, but not your domain name. Patents (which protect how things work) and trademarks or logos are protected by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
An exemption to copyright law is "fair use," created to allow commentary, parody, news reporting, research, and educational uses in reference to a copyrighted work, without the author's permission. Short excerpts of the work (usually attributed) are allowed, and the commercial value of the work must not be jeopardized.
Where Do I Apply for Copyright?
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You apply to register your work for copyright to the U.S. Copyright Office. You can register by mail or online (the filing fee is lower for online registration). Application forms can be found in public libraries and online.
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