Copyright - Please explain what I need to do?

My brother is in the process of writing notes for what could be a book, what could be a guide, what could be a blog.

How do we protect ourselves? If we blog it can't someone steal our idea?

How do you formally copyright whats displayed on your page?

 

Agree with Shannon!
In addition to the formal information provided by the US Copyright Office, I have read about a cheap solution.
At your sole discretion though:

Poor Man’s Copyright: http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-mans-copyright

 

The suggestion about copyrights are good but unless you are worried that some big corporation is going to copy it, it is of no use. You have to enforce the copyright, patent or trademark which is a costly process and it is of no use against someone who has nothing to lose even if you win your court case.

 

bjraines, I hope I don't seem like a jerk for pointing this out, but the subforum "Copywriting" is about writing copy (a.k.a. being paid to write content for someone), not about "copyright" or the legal protection of your work.

Now that I've got that out of the way, I'll talk about your copyright question, and start off with the suggestion Mystique mention - poor man's copyright. Don't bother mailing it to yourself. It pretty much admits in the link Mystique provided that it's easily faked and won't hold up in court. But the good news is you automatically have copyright on a work once it's fixed in tangible form. The advantage of registering a work is it's easier to sue for damages. Refer to copyright.gov (as Smyrl mentioned).

Here's a FAQ right from the source:
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html

 

One heck of an informative thread.

 

The drawback with http://www.copyright.gov is that they accept only 50 pages. If your material has more than 50 pages I would suggest to use timestamp services like www.digistamp.com and www.surety.com. Digistamp is cheaper (40c per timestamp) than surety ($1.5 per timestamp). With them you can prove your copyright easily. And you can timestamp your notes each time before publishing them. With copyright.gov it will be much expensive...

 

There are actually ways to make the "poor man's copyright" more valid in court, but it's really more hassle than it's worth. You don't technically need to do anything at all. Once you create a work, it's protected by copyright.

There's no point whatsoever is using timestamp services. Since it's not labeled by the federal government, it doesn't matter in court. That's what the poor man's copyright is about in the first place... getting the federal gov't (the postal service) to date stamp it.

Anytime you create something and put it online you run the risk of it being stolen in whole or in part. But just like with trademarks, it's your responsibility to actively protect your work. You should be searching for violations and sending cease and desist orders in every circumstance. Just proving that you've been defending your copyright is likely to make a huge difference in court (just like with trademarks... if you don't actively protect a trademark, you can lose them at the court's discretion).

But also look at it this way. If you don't take advantage of the Internet and every marketing opportunity, why did you waste your time creating something in the first place? Chances are that you either a) want it seen, or b) want to earn money from it. Either involves risks. Get over that fear and just move forward, being careful to protect yourself as you go.

If you still feel a need to do a poor man's copyright, I'd actually ask the post office to stamp the document itself, use one of those envelopes that really won't re-open w/o a pull strip, then seal it in front of them, and have it stamped multiple times over the seal (not on the front). Of course, they may think you're insane, but if it makes you feel better....

Jenn

 

The services I mentioned and actively use don't require to go to the post office and spend couple of hours to place a stamp. With digital timestamp services you create a file, run application they provide and place timestamp on the file. It takes about 1 minute or less. Then you publish your materials anywhere you want.

If someone steals your materials or even claims the ownership it is easy to prove that they are your materials because digital timestamp services provide tools to identify when files timestamped. It's enough in the court, because these third parties provide "strong legal evidence" that those materials are yours.

Snippets from http://www.digistamp.com/FAQts.htm
>>>>>>>>>
Does an e-TimeStamp meet the legal standard for using electronic records as legal evidence?
Yes, the IETF standard for time stamps and the DigiStamp process do comply with the Uniform Rules of Evidence Code. In the United States, the general admissibility of electronic records is well established, provided authenticity can be proven. In the Uniform Rules of Evidence Code, evidence of a process or system that produces an accurate result is the fundamental test for producing trusted electronic evidence. ....

In the United States, "E-SIGN" is a federal law that gives electronic signatures, contracts and records the same validity as their handwritten and hard copy counterparts. (The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 2000).

Has a time stamp been used to settle a legal dispute?
DigiStamp has created more than 1 million time stamps for customers and none have been challenged in court. Our service creates strong legal evidence by using an external audit and certified hardware.

It is important to note that an estimated 95% of legal evidence is challenged in early stage discovery, not in court. While DigiStamp can add legal strength to a court case, the third-party time stamp provides evidence to help resolve or avoid disputes prior to courtroom litigation. The legal community has described the situation where the time stamp or digital signature is presented as evidence between opposing parties before presenting their cases. The opposing counsels chose not to spend the effort to attempt to refute the time stamps, so this one point was just accepted. Therefore, this form of evidence did not convert to case law because it was not refuted in the courts.
>>>>>

 

I wasn't trying to bash your services. But until it is established in case law, I would continue to recommend always having the federal government stamp things. That's the point of copyright registration in the first place: the US federal government is basically offering its assurance that your work was created first. It's still not the same as registration though, whether you use the post office (who I've never waited more than 5 minutes for ... even on tax day) or a digistamp. That's always the best bet, especially with larger works. And there's certainly nothing wrong with getting it stamped by a third party as extra proof if there's a dispute. Heck, go for both. Neither is going to "hurt" you.

 

I think the better way to put it is that the judge is under no obligation to admit the timestamp service information into evidence nor to consider it when making a ruling.

That's the main issue with the poor man's copyright. It's been tossed out many times and not sufficient evidence.

That said, this does not mean sit on your hands. You should do what you can.

BTW, the fees for copyright are going up in a few days.

The main problem I see with timestamps is they don't prove creation origins. For example, I write my articles first, then post online at some point. While a timestamp might show a point in time that a document came online, it can't show nor dispute actual creation time. There's more to the process than simply showing the time a document went online. It's important to keep all of your notes, references and so forth.

Since you can copyright packs of info, that's your best bet. Timestamps and other methods should be your secondary outlet when cost is an issue.

 

Great point! I almost forgot about that. Was it going up to $45? I'm not sure... that's just what came to mind for whatever reason.

Jenn

 

Yes, $45 on July 01.

 

Since timestamping is very cheap you can timestamp everything (your notes, drafts) everyday. And you can use these timestamped drafts as evidence in court. The other party won't have timestamped drafts because they had stolen your materials.