Tuesday, October 3, 2006

Intellectual Property

Protect your creations.

Several months into my work on Run for the Roses I decided that I had better figure out how to copyright or register my work. I wasn't so much concerned about someone stealing my work itself, as I was worried that someone else would write a piece of software using the same name, register it, and then I couldn't use that name for my project.

Now, as luck would have it, when I wrote that first little program back in 1982, I believe it was, I decided to register it with the U.S. Copyright office. So I knew the name was protected as the name of a computer software program. I just updated that registration.

You may be asking how important it is to do this.

As I understand the law, you are not required to formally register or copyright a piece of work. By the simple act of creation, it is protected. But by publishing it in some fashion, and indicating that it is protected, you may head off those who would otherwise seek claim to your work.

This is right from the Copyright Office's website: "No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright... Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. “Copies” are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm."

Until a few years ago a work had to be published to be automatically protected. And published meant:
" 'Publication' is the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication."

But now you can easily communicate your ownership to others through the use of a simple phrase:

"Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved"

The easiest way to "publicize" this for me was to put it on my website and use that line at the bottom of each page. We'll talk later about how easy it is to set up your own website.

So why did I go to the trouble of registering my work? I suppose mostly because if there was ever a dispute, I could pull out my little registrar's certification and say "see, its MINE!". Doesn't mean someone won't sue you; but you'll be better positioned - plus you may thwart (first time I ever used that word) any number of possible litigants (that word too).

OK - so how do you go about registering your work?

It's really very simple. First, go to the U.S. Copyright website where you'll see a section called How to Register a Work. Look under Literary Works. You can read up on the process there, but basically you'll use the Short Form TX for most registrations. The cost is $45 and it is NOT a fast process. I have waited 9 months for a registration to be completed for a work.

But the folks there are really nice, if you ever need to talk to them (rare). Particularly a guy named Joe. He told me last year that they got something like 14,000 registrations each DAY!

Anyhoo, print out Short Form TX, fill it out, print out your code (I believe the requirement is either all the pages, or the first 50 and last 50 pages), write a check for $45, send it in - and wait.

By the way, if you are registering graphics, you'll need to send in the graphics on a CD or DVD (or a print of them if there are few), and if you're registering sounds of any sort you'll also need to send in a CD/DVD. With Run for the Roses I sent in all of that.

You'll finally get a certificate back signed by Joe or one of his colleagues that certifies that your work is Officially Registered!




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