How to Add Copyright to Your Work

Adding copyright to your work is really very simple. All you need to do is place the copyright symbol or the word copyright, and sometimes both, the year, and your name on your work. Some like to just place their name. It’s really up to you how far you want to take it. According to the United States copyright law… you are the copyright holder from the time you create anything.

But, for those who want to ensure that they have proof, should they need it… there is a such thing as the Poor Man’s Copyright, which is just a way to justify the date that you created something. The poor man’s copyright is just sending yourself a copy of the materials that you created in the mail and not opening them. The date on the outside of the envelope will prove when you created the item inside, which can be opened in a court of law should it need be. But, this type of copyright does not always hold up in a court of law seeing how an individual can send themselves an envelope to establish a date and later place the materials inside. The more reliable way to establish your date of creation is to deposit a copy with your bank or an attorney. This also stands as the poor man’s copyright. Or, you can have your materials notarized by a notary with their raised date stamp to ensure the date of creation. Of course, a notary does charge a small fee for doing so.

If you want to add the copyright symbol (©) to your work with your computer… then you can either type (, c, and then another ), so that your symbol looks like this… (c). Or, you can press the alternate key and hold it down while typing 0169 on the number keypad at the right of your keyboard. This will create the copyright symbol ©. This method does not always work on certain sites where you create your work and publish it on-line. Then, you will need to create the self-made (c) which is just as good.

Also, when doing images, drawings, or art… you can purchase software to help you add your copyright, so that you can place it right on the materials you plan to submit before you submit them. You can purchase software like PhotoStudio and PhotoShop cheaper at online sellers like Amazon.com. This is about the only way that you can add a visible copyright to an image, but you can add copyright to your art & drawings at the time of creation without this software by doing it by hand.

A watermark can also be added to your writing, images, drawings, or art before submitting them online. This is the same thing as a copyright… just transparent.

Some online publishers will not accept materials that have copyrights or watermarks. Make sure that you check with them first… before submitting any of your work.

Copyrighting and watermarking your work is a wonderful way to protect your precious materials displayed for viewing on websites, blogs, photo-sharing sites, articles, and any other place that your work will be put on display. This will keep your work from being copied without your permission, and keep it safe from those who like to infringe on ones copyright. However, some sites do not accept work that has been copyrighted or watermarked; mostly those sites that are selling copies of your work for you, or those who buy or sell full-rights (exclusive rights) to your work. These sites add their own copyright or watermark if they think they need to, or they produce a low resolution image for viewing purposes only.

If you want to copyright your work, but you are not sure what copyright format to choose… then take a look at some other published works and see what the creator of each work has done. This is the best way to determine exactly what you like and want for your own work.