There are many ways to copy protect your original works. It may depend on how much convenience you require, or simply how much funding you have to invest in it. Here are a few great options for protecting your original works.
- Declare it! Make a Statement!
Add copyright notices to all of your work. Be sure to use the format of Copyright OR ©, the copyright symbol itself. Followed by the year the item was created as well as the name of the creator. An example for me would be ©2011 Basil Puglisi.
- Register with the US Copyright office.
Register your copyright. This will immediately establish public records and is imperative in case you ever have to bring a copyright infringement case to a court. You will need to send your completed application form that relates to the works you are copyrighting, along with any fees required, as well as two copies of the work to the US Copyright Office. You have up to 5 years to do this, but it is highly suggested to do it as soon as possible to avoid red tape in an infringement case.
- Other Paid Services
With Click & Copyright, you have a more wrapped up package. They do start at around $79 USD but can provide you copyright options on all forms of media, as well as help you monitor for infringement issues.
- Free Services
Myfreecopyright offers many free resources and helpful tools to get your content protected as soon as possible, with or without upfront money. You simply need to upload your content to their server. A digital fingerprint of your content is captured, logged and stored. It is also emailed to you. This creates a safety net to protect your original work as well as register it. This service is entirely free and a great one.
Consider copyrighting all of your work, anything from eBooks, to pictures, to your personal blog content are all at risk until you do so.
Should you find that your work is being used elsewhere, be prepared to file or have someone file and enforce your rights under the DMCA.
©2011 Basil Puglisi
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