Hi, folks.

I'm currently working on a graphic novel that I am going to be self publishing. Teaching is keeping me hopping right now, so I am not looking to publish until next summer. As I am looking ahead, the ins and outs of obtaining copyright for my creation is gnawing at the back of my mind. Could those of you with expertise in this area point me in the right direction? Are there any sites that speak of copyright procedures as they specifically apply to comics? If not, do I copyright as artwork or literature...or something else? Any helpful hints would be appreciated.

I'm not an expert, but I believe that you want to <B>trademark</B> your actual characters, title of your comic, etc. so that your intellectual property can be protected.

You then want to <B>copyright</B> the individual works telling the stories of your properties.

There's a section here at the U.S. Copyright Office's web site that refers to cartoons and comic strips. It looks like it's a $30 fee to register your work with them.

( Hoping Mr. Busiek steps in with some real-world info... )

Jim Lawless

This:

is on sale for $2.00 at http://www.milehighcomics.com.

The best place to do your research is http://www.copyright.gov. It is the official government site and can answer just about any question you can ask, or at least point you in the right direction to find the answer. And comics fall under the visual arts category.

Also use your local libraries if you really want to delve into the subject. Any decent library should have a few books on copyright (mine has four) and a bunch of technical law books that cover the subject in legalese.

Technically you don't even need to file a copyright with the government. Any work of creativity is automatically copyrighted the moment it is created. Getting an officially registered copyright does help you if you find yourself in a legal battle over ownership, but to be honest that is highly unlikely.

Now the following isn't proper legal acvise, but what I've picked up doing mini-comics and talking to self publishers. There is a cheap easy form of copyright. Take a photocopied version of your work. Put it in a quality envelope (one of those thick yellow business kind). Seal it shut. Go to your local post office and send ti to yourself through registered mail. Now the government has a record of when the work was finished and from where it was sent. Keep the envelope sealed!! Should there ever be a question as to when and who created the work you have the sealed dated envelope to open when you go to court (which, once again, is highly unlikely).

I've tried to give answers to any question I could think of. If you have anything more specific, just ask. Or look it up. Or ask an intellectual property rights lawyer. You know whatever.

John, I had heard of the envelope trick, but wanted to be more official about the whole thing. The problem with the library resources is that I can't find comic specific references.

Darren, that is exactly what I was looking for.Thanks!

Jim, I'll peruse that site and see what I can find.

IMWAN: Your Source for Information

Take a photocopied version of your work. Put it in a quality envelope (one of those thick yellow business kind). Seal it shut. Go to your local post office and send ti to yourself through registered mail. Now the government has a record of when the work was finished and from where it was sent. Keep the envelope sealed!! Should there ever be a question as to when and who created the work you have the sealed dated envelope to open when you go to court (which, once again, is highly unlikely).

The simple answer is - "poor man's" copyright provides little or no protection. The "mail it to yourself" method essentially is worthless. It might provide <i>some</i> evidence that a work was created on or before the date of mailing, but it does NOT show who created the work (you could have copied somone else's work and mailed that to yourself).

In addition, it provides no protection what-so in countries that require registration as a prerequisite for filing (which is not really going to be much of a problem in this case - I guess) .

heh - one of the best thing about copyright is that if you go on the net - half of the sites on the matter rip off other sites!