I want to get my characters copyrighted! Looking for advice.

[Rock Man]

I created a comic book and now I want to launch it into a full blown series. I want my characters legit copy protected and my logos for said series trademarked. I'll be sending them through the computer digitally now my question is should I send draw them in 1 position or 2-3 per character? (one pose facing FRONT, SIDE, BACK, etc.) I need to know how I should draw them before I mail them.

[Lordstar]

wow thats a tough one! No idea about CW in comics. Reading about what google churns up is a lot of contradictions and such. however I do know a little bit about logos. which is more of a Trademark thing. You may want to google Trademarks and Copyrights in comics before geting a lawyer in on it. pretty sure there are one or two people who passed bar on here though.

[Vexorg]

Some relevant info here:

http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2012/ ... more-40252

This is someone I (sort of) know who happens to be a lawyer in the entertainment industry, and who has done a fair bit of writing on legal issues that content creators may face. His main blog is here:

http://legalminimum.blogspot.com

[Ex-Cyber]

From what I've read over the years, "copyrighting a character" is some fuzzy business. You're almost certainly better off thinking of it in terms of copyrighting books that portray the character.

[Ed Oscuro]

Your characters are already copyrighted. Trademarks will cost you money to file.

[Friendly]

Your characters are already copyrighted. Trademarks will cost you money to file.

This. You automatically own the copyright to everything you create, unless you create it in the employ of someone else.

[Ed Oscuro]

You automatically own the copyright to everything you create, unless you create it in the employ of someone else.

This, on the other hand, is possibly a bit more general than many lawyers would like, hinging on the use of the word "create." Some things can be "created" but not copyrighted.

Also, it might be mentioned that copyrighted characters will get you quite far. It should at least forestall the adoption of the name and characteristics of your characters while you trial your work.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

Your characters are already copyrighted. Trademarks will cost you money to file.

This. You automatically own the copyright to everything you create, unless you create it in the employ of someone else.

that's helpful. I think he wants to document and prove that he created them though - in which case, I think mailing the designs to yourself still works. It's up to you how detailed these designs should be.

Trademarking is going to be a giant pain in the tits though. I think you should wait until your comic becomes a 'brand' before you worry about all that.

[antron]

in the US can't you file with the Library of Congress to make it more concrete (but like someone said, in a book)?

[Ed Oscuro]

I think mailing the designs to yourself still works.

Nope.

OP, talk to a lawyer.

Also http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/digiproveblog/ digital signatures, yeahhh

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

Nope.

When did this happen?

[Ed Oscuro]

Nope.

When did this happen?

Since people figured out how to regum envelopes. It's better than no proof, but not much, and I'm sure there's better alternatives, like just getting it published to begin with. Too many people are looking to get stuff copyrighted without actually having something published - even online should do the trick. But like I said, maybe some clever lawyer will be able to give some real advice that matters.

[Sly Cherry Chunks]

^No, I mean - when did this happen in real life? - rather than in the fantasy scenario you just created so that you could be right. Maybe you could recommend the OP a really good brand of glue that cant be regummed without leaving proof of tampering?

like just getting it published to begin with

Doesnt rule out someone else claiming they had the idea first. Or someone else publishing stolen ideas. Actually, its no alternative at all.

[KAI]

All this copyright talking is making me really curious. I hope your designs are good.

[Ex-Cyber]

Doesnt rule out someone else claiming they had the idea first. Or someone else publishing stolen ideas.

Copyright has very little to do with ideas, which can pretty much be "stolen" freely. That's part of why the concept of "copyrighting a character" is so murky.

[KAI]

Sounds like paranoia to me.

[Ed Oscuro]

^No, I mean - when did this happen in real life? - rather than in the fantasy scenario you just created so that you could be right. Maybe you could recommend the OP a really good brand of glue that cant be regummed without leaving proof of tampering?

Everybody's favorites:

http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp
http://www.copyrightauthority.com/poor-mans-copyright/
I spotted another UK source at posting time which said essentially the same thing - don't try it, it's an almost useless idea.

I think I'll stop soon so the OP can figure out what they're actually worried about, rather than the increasingly exotic situations we can come up with. It does matter if you're in the U.S. or the U.K., though. You can straightforwardly register a copyright here in the U.S. with the Copyright Office; in the U.K. they suggest what I thought of suggesting as a last resort for poor man's copyright - send it to your lawyer or put it in the bank so there is a (slightly) better argument you didn't tamper with it. Again, though, in the U.K. you're better finding a reputable publisher and going through them. I think the whole idea of the registered mailing is pretty silly, since if you've been working on something for a while, you should have design notes, drafts, and other things of your own design that nobody else would know of, and those would speak more clearly to ownership than something mailed to yourself. Having it dated seems to be next to useless unless what you're putting out is that close to somebody else's work, and you shouldn't really be anticipating that. Edit: Another plausible take on Poor Man's Copyright is emailing stuff to yourself, or otherwise putting it in the cloud along with a date.

[D]

What does the subpar slam mean? Great image btw.
Good luck to the op with the comic, we´re curious. Is it comedy or hero stuff?