Copyrights

Copyright law protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed, such as the expression of computer software through source code.

Copyright protects original works of authorship or the expression of an idea. Patents protect the idea itself. However, both forms of protection may be available for the same matter. For example, a copyright protects source code while a patent protects the method being carried out by the source code.

Trademark protects words, phrases, symbols, or designs identifying a source of goods or services. Likewise, both forms of protection may be available for the same matter. For example, a trademark and copyright law may be used to protect a logo design.

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form. However, your copyrights are not enforceable until you have obtained a copyright registration from the Library of Congress. In addition, failure to obtain a copyright registration prior to an infringement occurring can greatly affect the damages you can collect.

Registration is highly recommended as copyrights are not enforceable until you have obtained a copyright registration from the Library of Congress. In addition, a copyright registration makes the registrant eligible to seek statutory damages and attorney’s fees against infringers.

The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is  sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a  substitute for registration.