Copyright your stuff... free?

[DevonAkins]

I'm not exactly sure about this place called MyFreeCopyright.com. It seems like a nice idea but kinda shady on the part that they could just be scamming people into uploading their own stuff and stealing it? I don't know, give me feedback on if I should use this or anyone on that part.

[HaniiPuppy]

Under international law, something is copyrighted the moment it's create and you can provide proof of it being copyrighted. The easiest form of Copyright (known as "The Poor Man's Copyright") is to burn of copy of what you're wanting to copyright and mail it to yourself via tracked mail, and never open it once you've received it.

[Seriana]

Uploading something to Newgrounds automatically copyrights it under your name as well.

That doesn't stop people from stealing music but if you claim copyright and provide proof if someone steals it, that person can either face fines or take it down.

[kwahoo]

Don't use that place. In the US (not quite so sure about other countries) unless under certain circumstances, once you put something down on some sort of permanent media, it is copyrighted. As long as you can prove that you made it, you can sue others for using it without your permission. Which is where registering comes in. To register a copyright, you have to submit it to the copyright office. The one-stop shop for all of that sort of info is at copyright.gov (which gives a much better explanation of everything I am talking about).

All you're paying that company to do is to register your copyright with the government. Something you can do easily for yourself for less money.

Oh yeah, that poor man's copyright thing where you mail it to yourself has virtually no meaning any more and no legal standing. Way back in the 1920's yes, but the laws have change since than. Once you create it, it belongs to you.

[HaniiPuppy]

At 4/5/09 01:30 PM, kwahoo wrote: Oh yeah, that poor man's copyright thing where you mail it to yourself has virtually no meaning any more and no legal standing. Way back in the 1920's yes, but the laws have change since than. Once you create it, it belongs to you.

The poor man's copyright is used for proving copyright, not for establishing it - and as long as it remains unopened, it can still be used for proving copyright since it's weight and date is both registered with the mail office/government (depending on the local or national government) and printed on the packaging.

[Chronamut]

if you really wanna make money - place your stuff in a place where lots of people are likely to steal it and then make all your money off of suing them for stealing your music XD

[WritersBlock]

At 4/5/09 02:07 PM, HaniiPuppy wrote:

At 4/5/09 01:30 PM, kwahoo wrote: Oh yeah, that poor man's copyright thing where you mail it to yourself has virtually no meaning any more and no legal standing. Way back in the 1920's yes, but the laws have change since than. Once you create it, it belongs to you.

The poor man's copyright is used for proving copyright, not for establishing it - and as long as it remains unopened, it can still be used for proving copyright since it's weight and date is both registered with the mail office/government (depending on the local or national government) and printed on the packaging.

I read on a website somewhere that the poor man's copywright won't hold up in court because there's too many ways it can be cheated. If you really have to, use it, but otherwise, don't go relying on it, as it's not exactly 100% reliable.

[Hotwired05]

on of the best ways of copyrighting lyrics on paper free is to mail it to yourself and NOT opening it. Post offices have records of everything.

[modem]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment /4420282.stm

Do it yourself. It's only like, what, $25 + CDR + postage?

[Chronamut]

At 4/5/09 06:46 PM, Hotwired05 wrote: on of the best ways of copyrighting lyrics on paper free is to mail it to yourself and NOT opening it. Post offices have records of everything.

agreed.

[Patcoola]

everyone has a copyright the moment you create something original,
otherwise you can register a copy right with the government for a small fee, and you'll be provided a certificate of proof.

[Steven-Polley]

Yeah, basically from the moment you click export, you can copyright it. (or even before that, you can copyright your project files).

[GunstarGreene]

The poor man's copyright is NOT going to hold up in a court.

If you really feel that your work is going to be plagiarized or stolen, get an official copyright on your work. Do not cheat any way around it - or you will regret not doing things right the first time around.

Mailing yourself a copy and leaving it unopened is better than nothing, but it can be faked, the files on your computer can provide better data than a self-addressed letter. Some internet logs may even provide the date and time when an item was post.

A copyright is not as expensive as it seems, it's $35. Put everything on one CD and copyright it. That copyright will last 50 years after your death.

[Phyrnna]

At 4/5/09 11:40 AM, DevonAkins wrote: I'm not exactly sure about this place called MyFreeCopyright.com. It seems like a nice idea but kinda shady on the part that they could just be scamming people into uploading their own stuff and stealing it? I don't know, give me feedback on if I should use this or anyone on that part.

Yeah, but a quick google search shows that it's been promoted on DeviantArt, one of the largest art submission sites out there. Apparently the articles I read written about MyFreeCopyright.com says that it's legit.