Applying for a U.S. Copyright

If you have created a work of intellectual property such as written a novel, created a film, or painted a painting and want your work to be protected from someone else using it for any purpose without your permission, it is imperative that you copyright your work. The United States Constitution provides that both published and unpublished works have a tacit copyright. A "poor man's copyright" allows that once your work has been saved in some kind of tangible form such as printed, saved on a computer, or mailed to yourself with the package date — stamped and left unopened, you are technically protected by copyright law. However, in order to ensure that you prevail in a court of law should ownership of the work come into question, it is recommended that you acquire a legal copyright by registering your work with the Library of Congress.

Section 101 of copyright law specifies another kind of copyright, where an employer retains the legal rights to intellectual property. This is known as "work made for hire" and occurs when an employer has paid an employee to produce the original intellectual property.

Though you are not obligated to pursue a legal copyright to protect your intellectual property, with the current climate promulgated by the Internet (where many believe all information should be freely shared) it is all too easy for someone to steal your intellectual property. The only sure-fire way to protect it is to acquire the legal copyright, which is usually bullet-proof in a court of law.

MyLLC.com can assist you in securing a U.S. copyright for your original work. Order by clicking button below or contact one of our highly trained professionals today using the form to the right to get started!