| There are two ways of protecting yourself. The first is to formally submit your designs to the Federal Copyright office which you should be able to find in the Blue Pages of your phone book or call 411 for directory assistance. You submit the title of the character and in some cases (not all) a design drawing. There is a form to fill out and a fee to pay (around $50.00 or so) and a few weeks later you get this spiffy looking document that says your character is officially copyrighted to you. Then every time you do the drawing you can put the little c in the circle - © - like this with your name and the year you copyrighted it after it. The second way is cheaper to start off with but could cost you more in the long run. Stick your designs in an envelope and send them by registered mail to yourself. Keep the envelope sealed and in a safe place. If anyone ever copies your design you can now take them to court and offer your registered mail designs as evidence that you designed the character before the person who infringed on your copyright. You’ll probably have to pay for a lawyer to get the job done right and you could always try to sue the offender for the copyright infringement as well. You can get the official, legal information on copyrights by asking for the booklet from the Copyright Office, it is usually for sale for a few bucks and is worth getting. |
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