Eight Steps to Register a Copyright

About.com's Guide to Arts / Crafts Businesses provides a step-by-step guide to registering a copyright. While it focuses on arts and crafts businesses, the information applies to any type of copyright you want to register.

The U.S. Copyright Office defines a copyright as protection for the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. Protection can be applied to both published and unpublished works.

Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection, including titles, names, short phrases, and slogans, familiar symbols or designs (these are protected by trademarks), as well as ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices (which are protected by patents).

Although you're not required to register a copyright, doing so has its advantages, including:

• Registration establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
• Before an infringement suit may be filed in court, registration is required anyway.
• Registration allows the owner of the copyright to record the registration with the U. S. Customs Service for protection against infringing copies being imported from other countries.

Read:

Eight Steps to Register a Copyright - About: Arts / Crafts Business
Copyright Basics (U.S. Copyright Office - PDF)
Browse Arts and Crafts Home Business Ideas