A Little About Copyrighting

Interested in obtaining a copyright? Here's a brief overview:

What is a Copyright?

Basically, a copyright is a legal way to protect a work as well as the interests of the originator.

Copyrighting can be done on unpublished or published works. Such action typically provides the owner the exclusive right to do or authorize others to do as the Author specifies with the material they produce.

Want to obtain a Copyright?

A copyright is automatic when the work is created however in order to formally protect the author's interest, filing the registration paperwork with the Library of Congress is appropriate method.

There are no other processes or registrations necessary other than completing the LOC forms then submitting them along with the proper payment and materials as required.

The registration current fee is $30.00 and again, the work does not have to be in published form in order to obtain a copyright.

What is the filing process for a copyright on a (un)published work?

It's easier than thought to be. Just visit the link below to find a simple three-step process.

LINK: http://www.copyright.gov/register/literary.html

How can an author get the forms to file a copyright?

An Adobe.pdf download of the TX Form used for published and unpublished nondramatic literary works can be downloaded using this link: http://www.copyright.gov/forms/formtxi.pdf

For the main forms page, visit: http://www.copyright.gov/forms/

Can't an author just mail a copy to themselves? Doesn't that qualify?

Well, regardless of what has been presumed, the LOC does pretty much state on their site that it doesn't qualify as being copyrighted using this process. If this is something being considered, please read over the following information before proceeding then make an educated decision from that.

LINK: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#poorman

Have more questions?

Although getting a copyright may seem somewhat intimidating to the first time author, the process is not all that difficult and the information regarding the process is freely available. If more information is necessary just visit the main Library of Congress website at http://www.copyright.gov/

For many frequently asked questions, this is a great place to start: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/