When I took Graphic Design 101, my professor said one of her designs got stolen. The thief would not stop using the design, so through cease and desist orders my professor eventually got a few free computers, desks, and chairs. But it was a legal mess for a long time.

So how do you copyright your work?

As the artist and creator, your work is automatically copyrighted for 50 years without registering it. It doesn't even have to be published.

However, if your work will be displayed publicly, it's a good idea to copyright it. It costs $30 $45 for each piece you want copyrighted. http://www.copyright.gov/

It can also take 16 weeks or more for the copyright to become official.

If you want to not copyright every single thing you post online, add a copyright mark to it. I've found using something as simple as a flash gallery such as Simpleviewer helps deter people from stealing my images. You can set up the gallery to enable right clicking, but it's easier to present your work without giving anyone a chance to steal it.

I've only had one problem of a person stealing my work (some of my photography and photomanipulations) on DeviantArt (which is why I no longer post there). DA does not have anything to prevent hotlinking or right click deterrents. In fact, I run across a lot of images people have stolen from DA to make web templates for Myspace, Facebook, Blogger, Friendster, Livejournal, and more.

In order to protect your work from theft:

• Add a visible watermark (or electronic watermarking).
  
• Keep low resolution images on your webpage at small sizes.
• Add a copyright notice on your webpage. People may still disregard it and steal your images, but if you ever have to get the courts involved you are protected.
• Use a flash gallery that disables hotlinking and right clicking.
  

On a final note, the copyright office is a bit weird. According to the Graphic Artists Guild:

VA Copyright Registration Forms must be submitted as 2-sided on one page. When you print out the .pdf form on the Copyright Office web site, print it on both sides of one sheet of paper, not as two one-sided sheets. The Copyright Office has been rejecting VA Registration Forms printed on two sheets.

Labels: copyright issues