Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Copyright (But Were Afraid to Ask)

Debate over copyright has raged for decades, essentially since humans began putting pen and paint to paper. But never has it been more complex than in the Internet age where so much information is readily available, and so easy to capture and distribute.

Because copyright is not only a complicated issue, but one that is an integral factor in so many people’s livelihoods, it’s a constant concern, and so important the U.S. government created the United States Copyright Office to administer it—which undoubtedly contributed to its complexity. After the Internet made its public debut and quickly became a medium not just for communication but e-commerce, the government also created an Electronic Copyright Office.

So if the government needs two offices to manage copyright, how are you supposed to understand it and follow the rules? It’s actually not as difficult as you may think.

What is Copyright?

Take a moment to really look at that word—copyright. It’s the right to copy or reproduce something. Over time, the word has come to mean legally granted protection for original work, published or not.

When you create something, whether it’s a book, a painting, a blog post, or a photograph, it belongs to you. Once you publish your work, or make it available to the public, it still belongs to you. Just because someone buys your book doesn’t mean they have the right to publish a chapter on their website, or make copies and sell them on ebay.

Making something publicly available and accessible doesn’t imply it’s there for public use, just like parking your car in a public parking lot doesn’t mean just anyone can take it. It’s yours. It belongs to you. And people need your permission to use it.

Do I Need to Register a Copyright to Have One?

The simple answer is no. Your work is protected from the moment you create it. Period.

If you like, you can register a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, just to make things official. However, if you ever want or need to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against anyone who may “borrow” your work, in that case, you will need to register your copyright.

To register a copyright yourself, simply:

• fill out a form, whether on paper or online
• provide a nonreturnable deposit (a copy of the work you are registering, or “despositing” with the office)
• pay a fee (as of this writing, $65 for paper; $35 for online)

If you’d rather not hassle with registration yourself, you can find a service to do it for you.

Are Copyright Registration Services Legit?

Well…that’s open to interpretation. Some services, such as Myows, allow you to “register” an original work with them for free, but all you get in return is a time- and date-stamped notification. This may come in handy to prove you created something before someone else published it on their site. But it’s not enough to hold up in court, should your situation ever progress that far.

Other services, such as Copyright Registration Service (CRS), do charge a fee. However, the site doesn’t make clear whether using their service also registers your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office, or you’re just buying a certificate that says you paid a fee to register something with this business. Make no mistake, despite its official-sounding name, CRS is not an extension of, nor is it affiliated with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Do your homework before using a copyright registration service. Better yet, use that time and energy to just register your copyright with the actual government entity, and rest assured you’ve paid for an official copyright registration, and that your work is protected should you ever end up defending it in court.

Can’t I Just Send a Copy of my Work to Myself?

This practice of mailing to yourself a copy of the work you wish to copyright is known as a “poor man’s copyright,” and it’s a bunch of hooey. The long-hel—and inaccurat—assumption is, if something is delivered to you by the United States Postal Service, then a government entity has acknowledged you as the owner of that item. That may work for determining whether there’s really a Santa Claus, but it won’t get you an official copyright.

Although the U.S. Postal Service was created by the federal government, it is an entirely separate entity. Aside from that, mailing yourself a document just isn’t how you obtain a registered copyright. For that, you must actually registere your work with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Is my Copyright Valid in Every Country?

While the United States does have copyright protection agreements with some countries, it doesn’t have such agreements with all of them. Check to find out which countries will honor your copyright.

What do I do if Someone Steals my Work?

First, don’t panic. This is something that, unfortunately, happens quite often, especially online because it’s so easy for plagiarists to copy and paste information and call it their own.

If the stolen work is print material, or something like a work of art, you may want to immediately register the copyright for your work. Don’t let the thief beat you to it. Overall, though, your best bet may be to consult a copyright attorney before taking any action on your own.

Just as stealing information is easier online, so is addressing information theft—to a degree. If you discover someone has stolen copyrighted material from your website, you can issue a DMCA takedown notice, also known simply as a DMCA notice. DMCA stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which is an extension of United States copyright law, and is intended to specifically address issues of digital copyright.

If you find your work somewhere it shouldn’t be, follow the steps to issue a DMCA notice. Or, you can have a DMCA notice service tackle the issue for you. Again, if those efforts are fruitless, you may need to consult a copyright attorney, and officially register your work with the Copyright Office.

What if I Want to Allow Others to Use my Work?

You have every right to do that. If, say, you’re a photographer, and you want to share the beautiful photos you take, you can make them available for public use. In order to make that known, you can apply a Creative Commons license to your photos. This will let others know they’re allowed to use your photos without fear of repercussion.

With Creative Commons, you can also impose certain restrictions on the use of your work. For example, you can specify that your photos are available for personal use only, and not for commercial work from which others profit. Or you can require those who use your photos to give you proper credit.

Creative Commons gives you several options, but remember that it’s not protection against anyone ignoring the limitations you set, and using your work in a way you don’t want it to be used. Be vigilant about where and how your work appears.

Copyright really comes down to two basic principles: your work belongs to you, and don’t steal what doesn’t belong to you. If more people acknowledged and adhered to those principles, a lot of lives and jobs would be much less complicated.
 

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