In article <12q0rg4ld3i4l21.TakeThisOut@corp.supernews.com>,
"Sylvia M" <xxxnotxxx.nsmol.TakeThisOut@invalid.com> wrote:
> Is it 'legal' to use the copyright symbol if you used the US Mail system to
> correctly mail yourself your document, thus employing the Poor Man's
> Copyright?
>
> Sylvia M.
The "poor man's" copyright is a fiction and has absolutely no legal
value whatsoever. Don't waste the postage.
Under current copyright law, your creative work is copyrighted as soon
as it is placed into fixed form (e.g. written down -- or typed into a
computer). However, this protection is pretty minimal as you must prove
actual damages to collect from an infringer -- and actual monetary loss
from an infringement can be very difficult to prove.
You may register your copyright with the US Copyright Office for a
modest fee. (Last I checked it was $30 but it may have gone up a few
dollars.) In most cases, you fill out short form TX and mail in two
copies of your work with the requisite fee. In some cases, you may need
to use long form TX -- but the fee is the same.
There are different rules for unpublished works -- but the process is
the same, fill out form, enclose a check and a copy or copies of the
work and that's that.
You can get information from the US Copyright Office web site. (Use
Google or use the links on Pete Masterson's great web site at
http://www.aeonix.com )
So, as far as the "legal" use of the copyright symbol, you can use it on
anything that you write. Simply state: "Copyright (c) 2007 by Your
Name." (Use the circle-c symbol instead of (c).)
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