Just a little caution to anyone foolish enough to try stealing my thunder:
Someone once stole one my early poems. They claimed it was theirs and won some contest... I was then powerless to prove it was mine.
Older and wiser, I DARE anyone to try that with me now. I can prove in at least 3 ways that EVERYTHING I post is original. Even though I may not hold the official copyright on all of my writing, I have been reassured by legal counsel, that while no one method of my personal copyright techniques would hold up in court, the combination of my safeguards are substantial enough to verify my authenticity.
Get 'em girl!
ReplyDeleteLol, thanks.. and thanks for adding "The Poor Man's" copyright to my list of safeguards. From my understanding, that has never been tested in court as legitimate on it's own... but if you take that and combine it with a few other 'home' copyrights you've got yourself something to work with. :)
ReplyDeleteYou should still register them. Works registered with the federal copyright office are considered prima facie (first order) evidence in court. Also, in order to file an infringement suit, you have to register anyway. And if you don't register before the infringement occurred, you won't be able to recover statutory damages or lawyer's fees. You can only get back actual damages and profits (which, honestly, would probably not cover the cost of filing suit in the first place).
ReplyDeleteYou can read more about it on Page 7 of the Copyright Office's "Copyright Basics" guide: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf
Also, "poor man's" copyright doesn't have any legal standing. From the Copyright Office's FAQ: "The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a 'poor man’s copyright.' There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration."
ReplyDeleteThanks for the aditional info, Brandon. I knew that the PMC had no legal standing...
ReplyDeleteSome of my work I've had officially registered. Not everything though, so I omit which ones are officially copyrighted.
Also, I am hoping to be published by several venues soon - they automatically copyright accepted work.
:) Thanks for following me... and telling me all those years ago, that I CAN fly :)