Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Copywriting my own material

you and/or an attorney can fill out the requisite copyright paperwork to preserve your rights and legal interests therein. if you would like further assistance in this matter, feel free to email my Law Firm directly.

Re: Copywriting my own material

People try to make the process seem strange and difficult, but actually it is cheap and easy. You can register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office - more info here:

http://www.loc.gov/copyright/

Re: Copywriting my own material

You have to fill out form-TX, pay $30 filing fee and deposit two copies of the book. Take a alook at the Library of Congress Site.

Re: Copywriting my own material

First, the term is "copyright" and the past tense of the verb form is "copyrighted," since the term has to do with rights, not writing; sculptures and paintings are subject to copyright just as much as written works.

Common-law copyright is pretty much abolished by modern statute, which recognizes three stages or levels of protection: (1) when the work is neither marked with the circle-C, date and name of creator/copyright holder; (2) when the work is properly marked but not yet registered; and (3) when the copyright has been registered.

Level (1) protection holds and is minimally adequate as long as the work is not exploited comercially. Publication, offering for sale, etc., requires level (2) -- marking with the circle C, etc., and protects the creator through marketing and other forms of commercialization or attempted commercialization. Finally, you would need formal copyright registration -- level (3) protection -- in order to bring suit in federal court to enforce your rights, if that became necessary.

I suggest you get a self-help law book aimed at authors and artists and review it before submitting your work to publishers -- or before spending money on lawyers. It seems to me that marking your manuscript with the (C) etc. would provide the necessary protection for submission to publishers. But read up first.

Re: Copywriting my own material

The word you're looking for is "copyright." ("Copywrite" is what advertising or newspaper people do.) Under the current law, your work is automatically copyrighted as soon as it is created. No formalities (i.e. copyright notice, registration, etc.) are necessary. However, a registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is necessary if you want to sue someone for infringement (but that can be done at the time you bring the lawsuit). If you want to register, you need to provide only ONE copy (not two copies) of an unpublished work to the copyright office, along with the proper fee and form. Visit the copyright office web site for more information.