How to Get a Copyright Worldwide

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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A copyright is a legal form that protects original pieces of authorship in various mediums. Copyrights cover both published and unpublished works, and can be used for just about anything you create that has your signature trait. Copyrights are not patents; patents are created more for the protection of discoveries or inventions before they are brought to production.
In the United States, the patent office has a great website that explains everything about copyrights and how to get the proper forms. There is only a small fee of $35 to copyright a piece of work, and it is well worth it. Once you get United States copyrights, they will be recognized throughout the world. For those of you who've heard of the "poor man's copyright" where you mail yourself a copy of the work, that idea just doesn't pan out and, more importantly, doesn't hold up well in court.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Step 1

Visit the U.S. Copyright Office website (see Resources) and read up about the copyright laws as pertaining to your particular art.
Step 2

Register with the eCO or Electronic Copyright Office. There is a link on the main site for doing this, and it only takes a few minutes.
Step 3

Register your original material through the eCO. For every piece you want to copyright, fill out an new electronic form and submit that along with a digital copy of your work.
Step 4

Submit your payment for each piece you want to copyright. Since you've registered through the eCO, you can also make your payments over the Internet. This is very convenient and speeds up the copyright process.
Step 5

Package your original piece on a CD or printed paper and mail it in to the U.S. Copyright Office. This can be in CD, DVD, audio cassette, microfilm or any other form you can think of.

Tips & Warnings

Most of the time, you can have recordings, writings or files filed over the Internet and have them copyrighted in approximately 5 months. There are some regulations you'll want to read up about on the U.S. Copyright Office website, but for most music or written works, it is a fairly simple process. You can even file a new copyright if your piece has changed in any significant way. After you are done filing your copyright request, wait for word that your material is copyrighted, and then you can feel free to distribute your art to your heart's content all over the world.
In order to protect yourself against the theft of your material, make an effort to get it copyrighted. It is a little bit of trouble, but far less trouble than what you'll get if someone steals a piece of work from you or worse, claims you've stolen something of theirs when you created it in the first place.

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