Help on copyright!

[Benjamin25]

What is the name of your state? NY

Hi there,

I have a couples of quick questions!

1) I create a digital information product recently, and someone took my work and started to sell it online (my work is not copyrighted). If I get my work copyrighted now, is it too late to sue this guy?

2) How long does the copyright process take?

 

[clueless3]

1) I create a digital information product recently, and someone took my work and started to sell it online (my work is not copyrighted). If I get my work copyrighted now, is it too late to sue this guy?

Your work is "copyrighted" the moment that you put it in a tangible format, eg, on a CD. Have you done that? If you have, and if he got it from you, then yes, you can sue him.

2) How long does the copyright process take?

1 minute. That's about how long it takes to burn a CD.

 

[divgradcurl]

clueless3 is generally correct, but in fact, copyright was established as soon as you typed the work into your computer. Writing to the CD is not required to establish copyright.

However, before you can enforce your copyright in the courts, you need to register your copyright. Go to www.copyright.gov, download the proper form (probably a form TX, but there are helpful flyers that will tell you which form to use), prepare a proper "sample" of your work (again, there will be instructions on how to do this depending on the format of what you are trying to protect), and then mail it in with a check to the copyright office, and then you will have a registered copyright. Once you have a registered copyright, you can sue the infringer. It doesn't matter how long ago you created the work, you can register the copyright at any time.

It usually takes 6-8 weeks for the registration to become effective one it has been filed.