How to Copyright Fiction Blogs

Protect your blog from plagiarism. Copyright your work.

Works of art and writing that are displayed publicly on blogs can be susceptible to plagiarism. Protect your fiction blog by copyrighting your work. Registering with the United State's Copyright Office has many advantages. You will be able to establish a public record of your work and will have a record to show in court in case of copyright infringement. Copyrighting your blog gives you exclusive rights to sell and contribute your work as you see fit.

Things You'll Need

• Completed application form
• Nonrefundable filing fee

Instructions

1. Go to the United States Copyright Office homepage. (See Resources.) To fill out a copyright form online, click on the option to Login to eCO.

2. Register for the eCO service. Once you have loaded the eCO homepage, select "Register a New Claim" under the heading, "Copyright Services."

3. Click on "Start Registration." Blogs fall under the category of "Works that include more than one type of authorship," because they include pictures, thoughts and designs as well as words. The Copyright Office wants you to register the type of work that is the predominant material. In the case of a fiction blog, select literary work.

4. Select "New," and type in the name of your blog. If you have individual short stories or novels published on your blog, than enter the title of each of the pieces individually. Their title type will be, "Title of work being published." Enter your blog's title under the title type, "Contents Title."

5. Continue onto the next page. If your blog has already been published, select "yes." If it has not been published yet, select "no." Enter the year it was created and any other details about your blog.

6. Add your name as the author of the blog. Also add the name of your organization, if any, your citizenship and the types of content you added to your blog. As the author of the blog, you are also the copyright claimant. Add your information to the next page.

7. Limit your claim to cover all the material you added to your blog, including text, artwork and photography.

8. Provide contact information for copyright management. This is who the copyright office will contact regarding copyright management information and permission for using the work.

9. Complete the next section only if you would like your claim to be specially handled. The special handling fee is $760. Certify that you are the author of the blog and review your submission.

10. Pay the filing fee and submit your form. The filing fee if you register online is $35. If you choose to mail in your form, then the processing fee is $65. The processing time is longer for forms sent by mail.

Tips & Warnings

• You can register for Creative Commons Licenses for free. Creative Commons allows you to set conditions to your work such as whether people are allowed to copy, distribute, display and perform your work. Creative Commons will give you a code to download and display on your blog.

References

• United States Copyright Office: Copyright Basics
• United States Copyright Office: Copyright Registration
• Creative Commons: Licenses

Resources

• United States Copyright Office