How to Copyright for Free

Copyright symbol. You can copyright your work for free and use the symbol.

The best way to protect your creativity -- stuff like writing, photos, music, clever titles, names, websites, business ideas, software and other creative output -- is with copyright, which you can do absolutely free. You might need other intellectual property protection as well, but most copyright protections are free and automatic.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Head to the U.S. Copyright Office's FAQs page at copyright.gov. The Copyright Office is part of the Library of Congress. This is your best source of information.

2. Note that copyright is automatic and happens from the simple act of creating a written product. The moment you create something, it's protected by US copyright law.

3. Understand what is protected by copyright. Many things are protected by copyright, including written materials, lyrics, music, software, photographs, drawings and websites.

4. Understand what is not protected by copyright, including names, titles, simple recipes, short phrases, and ideas.

5. Consider registering your copyrighted work. You can register for a modest fee. Registration serves as unambiguous documentation that your product was in existence at the date of copyright. If you ever get into a legal tussle over ownership, registration can be a huge help.

6. Look for other means of protecting your intellectual property. Although many things are not covered by copyright, they can be protected by other means, usually through trademarks and patents.

Resources

• U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright FAQs
• U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright Registration
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: All About Trademarks