I’ve heard that sending something (for example, art you’ve created) via the USPS and keeping the package sealed is equivalent to a copyright. Dope?
An original work is copyrighted as soon as it’s completed; you don’t have to do anything special to be entitled to copyright protection. If a dispute arises, you need only to prove the date when the work was finished to establish that you created it first. Sending the work to yourself in a sealed envelope with a dated postmark used to be a common way to establish such proof. But I am dubious that such evidence was ever commonly used in litigation.
A basic copyright registration with the US Copyright Office will set you back $65.
It proves something was mailed on that day. It doesn’t prove what was mailed. It’s possible to not seal an envelope, mail it, put something in it later and seal it then. I understand that the USPS advises people not to do this, as it’s not proof of ownership, but as they are a post office and not a copyright office I am not clear under what authority they make that claim
Basically, what Friedo said. You automatically own the copyright on your own original creative work or intellectual property. You don’t have to do anything or take any special action or use any special marks.
An entirely separate issue is how, in cases of dispute, you prove that you created something, and had done so by a given date. Once upon a time, some sources suggested the “mail it to yourself” method as being an inexpensive way to create such proof should it be needed, but it was poor advice then and remains so now, given how easy it would be to alter the contents of a mailed package.
There are other inexpensive and yet more legally water-tight ways to establish date of creation or completion. The best way is to register the work with the authorities, as Friedo suggests. Another is to send a copy with a covering letter to a friendly lawyer and say ‘Please sign and date this cover letter and keep this package somewhere safe’. Another is to send a small number of copies to independent witnesses who are unknown to each other, such that in case of any legal dispute it would be very hard for the opposition to plaubily assert that all these witnesses could be in collusion.
I’ll just add that this (ineffective) technique is known as the poor man’s copyright.
They make it because they know what the Copyright Office has to say.
No such claim has ever made through a court case. If anybody suggests that you do this, run the other away.
All it proves is that stupid urban legends were as prevalent before the interent as they are now.
I cannot imagine any court treating ianzin’s suggestions kindly either when registration is the official remedy. Online registration, which you should absolutely do unless there is literally no physical way around it so that old fashioned sending them physical copies is necessary, is only $35, not $65. (You can register anything you made in the previous three months as a package, BTW.) This is the only legal date stamp I have ever heard referenced in a court case. Why would you even think of trying to get around it?
Yes, the basic question in a copyright dispute is - did you create it, and when? If you did, it’s automatically yours from then on.
Any “proof” is only as good as the other guy’s attorney’s cross-examining skills.
Most companies that use copyrights or patents (almost all) typically will ignore unsolicited submissions. How many times have you heard in the last decades - a big movie comes out, and someone sues saying “I submitted that idea and you rejected it, and now you’ve copied it!”? That’s why they specifically return most such submissions unopened, and certainly none of the creative staff see them. That way, if you sue, they can say “There’s no way Fred saw your idea or even heard of it. he came up with his own idea.”
My suggestion - keep a journal describing what you’re working on every day or so - bound book, so nobody can say you inserted pages. “Today I started writing a story about a kid who is an orphan mistreated by his uncle’s family, finds out he’s really a wizard, because an owl drops letters in his chimney.” That sort of thing. Every so often, take it to a notary public and have it notarized as to date. Leave no blank spaces. etc.
Or accept that what you have is not that great.
That might prove original composition. But so what?
Copyright applies to expression, not ideas. If you write a book about a wizard etc. and then Rowling comes along, you can’t stop her from using any of these ideas. You can only make a case that she stole the actual words you used (or used so many items so transparently altered that it comes to the same thing). If you never published those words, you have no case for her stealing anything.
And even if you can show that she had access to your original and stole the actual words, if you haven’t registered the copyright the most you can get is an injunction to stop her publishing her work. For money you are limited to “actual damages,” which is the money you can prove you lost because of her actions. That is not the same amount of money as she made. It’s almost certainly close to zero.
That’s why registration changes everything. If you register your copyright you can get punitive damages. That’s a punishment and can be any amount.
None of the cockamamie schemes others have given will allow you to recover punitive damages. Those are limited to works that have been officially registered. There is no other advice to give or that should be listened to.
I have no relevant reponse to the OP that hasn’t already been proffered, but. . .
I heard this advice [copyright by mailing to yourself] dispensed by none other than Rod McKuen on Larry King’s late night radio program @1980.
Yes and no. It doesn’t have to be word-for-word lifted - or note-for-note. Dickens fought shady publishers who sold altered versions of “Christmas Carol”. I recall reading that one publisher claimed he ahd “improved” the book. That’s why we have judges - they decide if it looks close enough to be a copy or not. Even the characters are copyright. I can’t write my own fan porn about the Harry Potter bunch, even if none of the scenes I write happened in any of Rowling’s books. I suppose (IANAL) that the key question is - are you copying what someone else has done?
Good point on the registration -punitive damages thing. I assume the logic there is that this explicitly registers so there’s no question the original is something the other party should have known about.
And I cannot imagine why anyone, least of all here on the Straight Dope, thinks that America is the only country that exists. I live in the UK. Here, there is no copyright registration office as such. Here, in any case of dispute, having one’s solicitor saying “Here’s a copy of ianzin’s TV show script. We received it in our office on June 1st 2009 and notarised it, here are the witnessed notary seals,” would be very strong proof, acceptable to any court. I was merely suggesting it as an option to explore.
OK, let’s run with this then. How exactly would you go about using the USPS to send yourself a letter in the UK? 