Copyright Video

S

Splinky

Member
How would you go about copyrighting a video? Has anyone ever put thier film on disc and submitted it to the copyright office? I shot something unscripted and I would like to put a copyright on it.

Thanks.



Jim
 
you can also sort of half ass copyright it by mailing to yourself through registered mail and then just leaving the package sealed....I don't know if this is true or not though, so don't quote me....
 
PDX_DVX said:
you can also sort of half ass copywrite it by mailing to yourself through registered mail and then just leaving the package sealed....I don't know if this is true or not though, so don't quote me....
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's called a Poor Man's copyright, and was popular back in the day. I don't think it holds up as well in court, but as a last ditch effort I guess it's worth it.

Technically, by the letter of the law, you have a copyright as soon as your create something in a tangible form. The only "copyrighting" something does is register it with the US gov. It's basically legal protection because he said, she said doesn't hold up well in court. Either way, it's only $30 so it's not a wallet killer...now, trademark on the other hand...
 
Yea the poor mans copyright is no good. There are apparently people out there that will mail unsealed letters to themselves, then when something promising comes along the put that in the envelope and seal it. Who to believe if their envelope has an earlier postmark than yours. Just get a real copyright certificate. Cost about 30$.
 
Yeah I did hear the poor mans copyright has never worked. I did copyright a script some years back. Was pretty easy. I was just curious if anyone just submitted a VHS or DVD only (no script)?
 
They have strict requirements depending on what type of copyright you apply for. So, whatever they require you need to send it. If you omit something you probably won't get a copyright, and even worse, you'll probably find out after a long period of time. We're talking about the federal government here, they take their time.
 
I copyright all my films by submitting the DVD to the library of congress. It takes 2 - 3 months to get the paperwork back, and sometimes they will call along the way with questions. The good thing is that if something is missing or incorrect they will do their best to fix it and allow you to e-mail them in writing the authorization required to make changes. Saves you from having to keep filling forms out and mailing them in over and over.

For only $30 I have no idea why anyone would even bother mailing themselves a sealed package and then keeping it forever. Even the FAQ at the copyright office web site speaks poorly of the idea:

I’ve heard about a “poor man’s copyright.” What is it?
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.
 
PDX_DVX said:
you can also sort of half ass copyright it by mailing to yourself through registered mail and then just leaving the package sealed....I don't know if this is true or not though, so don't quote me....
Click to expand...

NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. NO.

My God, I wish I had a button which would go out into the Internet and delete every trace of this myth.
 
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