Question:
for a magazine? What are the correct forms and how much does it cost?
Answer:
What do you mean?
The mere act of printing something gives you a copyright (albeit an unprovable one).
Answer:
Originally Posted by goldenchild for a magazine? What are the correct forms and how much does it cost?
According to US copyright laws, the moment any creative work exists in its final form, you immediately and automatically have a copyright on it. No forms or payments are necessary, although you can register your magazine with the US Copyright Office in order to have legal _proof_ of your authorship (that costs $30 plus postage). Any time you print anything that is your own work you can put at the bottom "Copyright 2005 Goldenchild"; unless you are very worried about someone else trying to pass off your work as your own, that's all you should bother with doing. You _don't_ need to register in order to have the right to use that statement.
(see www.copyright.gov).
Also, for copyrights, patents, and similar things there is what's known as the "poor man's copyright" - mailing the material to yourself in a well-sealed envelope. The postmark establishes the date of authorship.
Edit: And then, of course, you leave the envelope sealed until such a time as it might be needed in court.
Answer:
Blindman, that's sweet, about the poor man's copyright.
My dad works for a patent law firm. I'm sure he knows all about this stuff. But all you have to put is "Copyright 2005. Goldenchild." Then maybe go into Character chart and get the circle C copyright symbol. Then it's untouchable.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Blindman Also, for copyrights, patents, and similar things there is what's known as the "poor man's copyright" - mailing the material to yourself in a well-sealed envelope. The postmark establishes the date of authorship.
Edit: And then, of course, you leave the envelope sealed until such a time as it might be needed in court. The "poor man's copyright" is not an effective way of establishing ownership. It doesn't hold up in a court of law, so don't use it for anything you really care about.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Decency Blindman, that's sweet, about the poor man's copyright.
My dad works for a patent law firm. I'm sure he knows all about this stuff. But all you have to put is "Copyright 2005. Goldenchild." Then maybe go into Character chart and get the circle C copyright symbol. Then it's untouchable. The problem is, if you actually had a copyright dispute, simply putting "copyright 2005" at the bottom of your creation wouldn't prove anything. What if I copied it and wrote "copyright 2004" at the bottom of mine?
Answer:
You can prove virtually nothing about copyright ownership or date of authorship in court without a copyright registration. In fact, you'll find it hard to even bring an infringement suit against somebody in the first place if you haven't registered your copyright.
If you never register your copyright, and some one goes out and registers your song claiming it as their own, it is YOUR burden of proof to show that you first wrote the song and fixed it in a tangible medium of expression (and, therefore, own it), and their copyright registration certificate holds a heck of a lot more weight in court than your sealed envelope does.
In short, if you want to be able to defend your copyright, register it. The only purpose that the copyright notice serves is to ward off would-be infringers.
Here is the form you need for a magazine (the entire magazine), and here is the form you need for a single literary work.
In His love,
Nate