Copyright Your Videos Here
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THE NO-NONSENSE GUIDE TO
COPYRIGHTING YOUR VIDEO PRODUCTIONS
By Steve Yankee
Ready to protect your precious video productions against
unscrupulous video pirates and thieves? Before you apply for a
copyright on your work, there are a couple of things about copyright law
that you may be interested in knowing.
In reality, a published work (in this instance, we're talking
about a videotape) is considered copyrighted when it is created and
"fixed" in a copy. So if you've already produced it and made a copy of
it, it's considered copyrighted automatically.
"So why register with the U.S. Copyright Office at all?"
The best reason is because registration is required before you
can take legal action in a copyright infringement suit. In other words,
before you slap those foolhardy video pirates with a big law suit, the
prerequisite paperwork --in this case, your copyright registration --has
to be filed and accepted.
Registration also makes a public record of your claim.
Now in order to let the public know your work is copyrighted,
it should contain (of all things) a Copyright notice. This consists of
the word "Copyright" or (c), followed by the year of first publication and
the name of the Copyright owner. So if you'd like your video audience to
know all this, put (c) 1997 by John Doe on your tape with your character
generator, and make sure close to the first time the tape's title appears
as is possible. You can also put these words on your packaging, too.
"So how long does a Copyright last?"
Since January 1, 1978, a Copyright is in effect for the author's
life plus 50 years. If the author's name is not known (anonymous) or the
author's real name is not known (pseudonymous) or the author is an
employer (as in "works made for hire,") the duration is from 75 years from
publication, or 100 years from creation --whichever comes first.
"So what happened prior to 1978?"
Anything copyrighted in or before 1977 was protected for a
period of 28 years, with a renewal option for 47 more years. That means
that anything that was copyrighted 75 or more years ago from today is
now in the public domain.
Filling out Application Form PA
To properly copyright your work, you've got to fill out
Application Form PA. If for some reason, you could not obtain the form above, it's
available (free) from:
Register of Copyrights,
Copyright Office,
Library of Congress,
Washington, DC 20559.
You can also get copies of Form PA by calling the Copyright
Office Hotline number anytime day or night at (202) 707-9100.
After you've filled out your Form PA and sent it...
...you won't receive an acknowledgment that your application
was received, since the office receives over half a million applications
annually --but you should expect from them --within 16 weeks of
submission at the latest, but probably sooner than that --a certificate
of registration to indicate your work has been registered; or, a letter or
a phone call requesting additional information.
Your registration is effective on the date that all the required
elements --the application, the fee and the work itself --are received
in the Copyright Office, regardless of when you receive your certification!
And I suggest that you don't wait to register; if you want to
take full advantage of the copyright law and its legal recourses, you
should register your work within three months of publication.
