As soon as your work is completed in tangible form you want to place the copyright notice on it. I someone or several may be think that digital art is not a tangible form, right? Wrong! According to the Copyright Law, Section 102(a)...be right back, I am going to double check this *jeopardy theme plays in the background*...okay, it is time to continue, I had it right.

Section 102(a)this is verbatim: "Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title, in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device." Then it lists the works of authorship categories.

I did run across it in one of the many books I have, that digital works are considered tangible form when they are stored on a disk and or printed on paper. I may have the wording wrong as it was rather late when I was reading up and making certain that I things correct for this article. The main idea here is to put that copyright on your work ASAP!

Admittedly, I do not put the copyright notice on all of my work and I do have a reason for this which may sound strange to some or all of you. The works that I do not put the notice on are the ones that I do not intend to put up as prints for sale. These are usually the works where I have used my idea and stock from wonderful stock artists to make the idea a reality. Why, you might ask? Because, the stock is not mine, I did not make it. If the stock artists had not had it in their galleries then the idea would have remained an idea until I found time to sketch it out on paper. Okay, so I have a very strange way of looking at things; on the other hand, it could not be more true. Besides that, I'm still learning and playing with the digital realms of art creation and once I feel I'm as good as some of the artists I watch, perhaps my way of looking at things will change.

Alright, enough goofing off, it is time to get down to business. I would like to introduce you to a form of copyright that you may or may not be aware of, it is a very simple and inexpensive form of copyright. Now, you're curious and probably wondering, "If it is so simple and inexpensive, I'll use it." Right?

Say hello to the "Poor Man's Copyright". With this copyright, all you have to do is get a legal document size manilla envelope, address it to yourself, put the contents pertaining to your original work inside, seal it and send it. When it arrives, put it in a safe place unopened. Simple, right? Sure it is. But it is advised that you DO NOT use this form of copyright. One reason: It is very hard to prove the validity of it in court; and a second reason: this type of copyright is easily forged. Oops! When I'd heard about the Poor Man's Copyright for the first time I did get excited, and started thinking "Great, I can protect my pieces!" Then I researched it, reading several different articles. Each article saying pretty much the same thing, that using this copyright is not advisable.

The Library of Congress website may be of some help to you as far as gaining basic information. If you choose to visit it, you want to look for Circular 1: Copyright Basics, Circular 2: Publications on Copyright, and Circular 96: Regulations Relevant to Visual Arts. If you are interested in doing so, you can also obtain a print copy of the full copyright law: Circular 92 for $28.50. It is also available free in PDF format. I believe all or most of the Circulars on the site are available in PDF format. They also used to offer a Copyright Information Kit, I am not sure if they still do this or not.

The Library of Congress: [link]

Visual Artist Information Hotline: 1-800-232-2789
Mon-Fri 2PM-5PM EST. Referral Service providing details of programs and services available to artists.

Books:
Legal Guide for the Visual Artist by Tad Crawford
The Business of Being an Artist by Daniel Grant
Electronic Highway Robbery by Mary E. Carter
Making It Legal: Revised and Expanded by Martha Blue