copyrighting...

[Tac00]

i know this question has been asked before. im looking to copyrgiht my characters and ive seen the copyright web site. but in a nutshell could anyone explain how it wokrs? like do i send in a booklet with my characters in it? or a written backround for each. just bassically what did you guys do?

[MixedMyth]

Technically, you as the creator already own the copyrights to your characters. Anyone who creates their own stuff automatically owns the copyrights to it from the moment the thing is created. Now, some people like to go further than that just in case it comes into dispute. So you don't really need to do anything unless there's any reason why it might be disputed or if you really want to cover your bases. I suggest checking out Wikipedia on copyrights if you want to really get into it.

[Bustertheclown]

Which "copyright website" did you go to? I ask, because there are a lot of "copyright" websites out there, but the official website about copyright law and copyright issues in the U.S. is http://www.copyright.gov. Whenever I have questions about copyright issues, that is absolutely the first website I visit. (inb4 "baaww international!" go find your own intellectual property office here: http://www.wipo.int/members/en/) There's a lot of misinformation and confusion about intellectual property law, so the best bet is to get the info from the legal source.

Now, onto your specific question, you can't technically "copyright" a character, beyond using it in a work. That is to say, copyright will protect every specific incident in which the character is depicted, but it doesn't protect the "spirit" of the character itself. Characters fall within a sort of legal limbo between copyright protection, and trademark protection (http://www.uspto.gov/) with probably a dose of common law thrown in, and defining those protections are not based on statute, but rather legal precedent, which can change over time. So, your best bet is not to try to register anything pertaining to your characters, except the works that actually use your characters. Registering a drawing and/or description of the character is only going to give the widest protection to that specific drawing and/or description. It would be much more suitable to save the cost of money and time for the process on an actual product, like the works of art your characters appear in, because pointing to a book or animation or painting and saying, "that's my character, and he's been applied to an expression, so no touching!" will have a bit more weight behind it than some concept sketches and the intent to use the concept someday.

[Tac00]

so instead of copyrighting a character on a paper i would be better off copyrighting them off my comic?

i intend to make a game withthem as well is that going to fall into the same category? should i copyright the game on its own and not worry about the characters?

[Jekkal]

The general idea is that any offshoot product you make (like a game) will be based off of ("licensed from") your comic, not your characters. It may involve characters FROM your comic, certainly...

[Tac00]

its just all so confusing. so i should copyright my webcomic and all the characters in there would be all set?

if i called them, would they have clear info on this webcomic characters in specific.

[Caduceus]

I don't know what country you are in.

If you are in the USA, don't both registering a copyright unless you make money on your webcomic. Just put a little © at the bottom of your images (because you already have a copyright on all creative works) and send nasty emails to people if they use your stuff. If you aren't the USA, I have no idea.

[Komiyan]

Same applies in the UK, you don't need to physically go out and copyright stuff.

Honestly, I very much doubt any one of us needs to be concered about it.

[Paul Escobar]

You don't need to do anything. Copyright is inherent in any tangible, published work. Putting your comics online counts as publishing.

In the US (and only in the US) you can register your work with the Copyright Office, but that's a complete waste of time and money unless you expect to get into a legal battle in an American court with someone making pirated versions of your work. Film, music and software producers often have genuine problems with intellectual property piracy. Comics authors? Not so much. Please note that the key word here is money - copyright law is about protecting the economic interests of the copyright holder. The legal system doesn't care if someone nicked your characters unless they derive you of a significant income by doing so.

[Tac00]

You don't need to do anything. Copyright is inherent in any tangible, published work. Putting your comics online counts as publishing.

In the US (and only in the US) you can register your work with the Copyright Office, but that's a complete waste of time and money unless you expect to get into a legal battle in an American court with someone making pirated versions of your work. Film, music and software producers often have genuine problems with intellectual property piracy. Comics authors? Not so much. Please note that the key word here is money - copyright law is about protecting the economic interests of the copyright holder. The legal system doesn't care if someone nicked your characters unless they derive you of a significant income by doing so.

i see. thats what i want to protect it from in the future(legal battles). better off doing it now then later.
so what would i need to send in a nutshell to register it? should i regestir the webcomic itself?

[Bustertheclown]

You don't need to do anything. Copyright is inherent in any tangible, published work. Putting your comics online counts as publishing.

In the US (and only in the US) you can register your work with the Copyright Office, but that's a complete waste of time and money unless you expect to get into a legal battle in an American court with someone making pirated versions of your work. Film, music and software producers often have genuine problems with intellectual property piracy. Comics authors? Not so much. Please note that the key word here is money - copyright law is about protecting the economic interests of the copyright holder. The legal system doesn't care if someone nicked your characters unless they derive you of a significant income by doing so.

i see. thats what i want to protect it from in the future(legal battles). better off doing it now then later.
so what would i need to send in a nutshell to register it? should i regestir the webcomic itself?

If you want the most legal protection you can get, then yes, register it. I don't believe that it is a waste of time or money to register your copyrights. It's not expensive. I've regularly blown more on dinner and a movie than I have on the copyright registration fees. Visit this page: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/ and look at Circular 1, Circular 44, Circular 62, and Circular 66.

Just be sure your work can be legally registered before making the effort. For example, your Yoyo Cheese comic is wholly your own, and could be easily registered by you without problems. However, your current video game comic contains roughly 90%+ characters that are NOT yours, making it pretty derivative. Special rules apply for derivative works to make them legal, like permission from the copyright owners. I doubt even if you managed a registered copyright for that comic, it would stand up well to any legal action taken by the video game publishers whose characters you're using, especially since several of the characters are trademarked.

Being part of the legal process, copyright law is never ever ever going to be a simple black and white situation. Yes, you own the copyrights to any expression the moment it has been tangibly expressed. No, registering your copyrights is not necessarily a waste of time or money, especially since creating public record of one's work is one of the few forms of real protection we have for our intellectual property in this digital age. Why else do you think organizations like the MPAA and RIAA so rabidly seek to pursue and strengthen those protections? Certainly, as a person who is producing intellectual property, knowledge of the law is power. It's better to know the law, and make informed decisions on your own, than to be misinformed and paranoid.

[Komiyan]

If someone tries to rip you off I'll pay for the legal fees myself

From my floating island pulled along by flying pigs

[Robin Pierce]

I'm with komi on this one; I think you're being a bit preemptive about the entire situation. No one is going to steal your comic. This isn't even something you really have to be concerned about until your comic has a massive readership and you're one of the cases that's actually making money/a living off the comic and associated merchandise. And, forgive my bluntness but, I get the feeling you're a long way off that.

[Tac00]

I'm with komi on this one; I think you're being a bit preemptive about the entire situation. No one is going to steal your comic. This isn't even something you really have to be concerned about until your comic has a massive readership and you're one of the cases that's actually making money/a living off the comic and associated merchandise. And, forgive my bluntness but, I get the feeling you're a long way off that.

its fine. i understand i did only just start. but i was just thinking why not get it over with because i know im stuck with them for a while.why wait?

[Bustertheclown]

There's nothing wrong with being preemptive about legally protecting your property from trespass, especially on the web. It's naive to think that you have to be popular or professional or even good in order to have some unscrupulous asshole who thinks the world is his clipart resource commit an infringement on your work. All you need it to create one thing that the wrong person likes.

This shouldn't be about expecting infringement, it should be about preparing for the possibility, and infringement is a possibility for everyone who deals in intellectual property. You wouldn't tell a guy he's foolish for putting locks on his doors, because his house has never been broken into. The more you do to keep yourself legally up to date, the greater the breadth of possibilities you have in dealing with any problems that may arise. That's just a fact. Besides, in my experience, it's those who have taken the time to educate themselves and participate in the processes involved in intellectual property law who tend not to overreact and behave like morons when something does happen.

[RobertBr]

You wouldn't tell a guy he's foolish for putting locks on his doors, because his house has never been broken into.

But you would if he lived in the remoter parts of Scotland, the most valuable thing in the house was a wooden clothes peg (without the spring), and the lock cost more than the property was worth. Its about being proportionate, and for a free webcomic you don't intend to profit from and no-one is likely to steal paid registration services seem, well not proportionate if not actually disproportionate.

Robert

[Jekkal]

You wouldn't tell a guy he's foolish for putting locks on his doors, because his house has never been broken into.

But you would if he lived in the remoter parts of Scotland, the most valuable thing in the house was a wooden clothes peg (without the spring), and the lock cost more than the property was worth. Its about being proportionate, and for a free webcomic you don't intend to profit from and no-one is likely to steal paid registration services seem, well not proportionate if not actually disproportionate.

Wow, what a dick way to say someone's comic is worthless!

The truth is that regardless of how popular a work is, it still has SOME protection. If we only waited until everything had value before we protected it, just think of how much shit work would never blossom into some of the better comics we know and love (and how much might be ripped off before it had a chance!)

... And that got dangerously close to being a pro-life statement, except everyone knows the average baby is still cuter than the average first strip of a comic. >_>

[RobertBr]

Wow, what a dick way to say someone's comic is worthless!

The internet, postmodernism in action. Ignore the fact the text quotes a previous poster in a context about if it is worth going beyond the basic protections that exist by default, that it refers to webcomics only in general and contains no quality reference, oh no you want to read it as a hit on the OP so regardless of what is actually said you are going to read it that way.

Robert

[Metruis]

You wouldn't tell a guy he's foolish for putting locks on his doors, because his house has never been broken into.

But you would if he lived in the remoter parts of Scotland, the most valuable thing in the house was a wooden clothes peg (without the spring), and the lock cost more than the property was worth. Its about being proportionate, and for a free webcomic you don't intend to profit from and no-one is likely to steal paid registration services seem, well not proportionate if not actually disproportionate.

Robert

What I would say, in that case, if he wants it, LET him have it. The lock might be the most valuable thing in the house but if he sleeps better at night for it, let him.

I haven't looked at the OP's comic, so I wouldn't know--but I'll say this much. Art doesn't have to be popular to be stolen, but it usually has to be good. I fondly recall (okay, not fondly at all) involving myself in a project with a bunch of 13-14 year old fangirls. An illustration project. I was effortlessly the best artist in the group and I would have been if I'd been drawing with my feet, there were a couple of them who did reasonably good pencil art but as most of them WERE using pencils, it was at the quality you'd expect the average American 13 year old fangirl to be drawing with pencils.

Their watermark covered the entire freaking page. They'd made this huge, UGLY watermark, contact information, webpage, etc, etc. I suggested when I joined the project that, uh... (I tried to be tactful instead of saying 'no one's going to steal that if they're paid to', because if you want anime fanart, you can get good anime fanart to steal off DeviantArt, really now.) perhaps they didn't need a watermark quite that large, it detracted from the art (or covered up the fact that it was ugly), it was badly done, they should probably try my advice out and watermark it in a smaller fashion that would still make it hard to steal. (I was refused then, I insisted that they let me watermark my own contributions, I did, in a reasonable fashion, I left. The project had a lot of potential and they presented it wrong.)

There's just some art that's not going to be stolen.

So I wouldn't say these quotes are calling the comic useless. Far from it. These kid's art wasn't useless either. It had a point, it made its point, it wasn't all bad, it was just not the sort of art that was going to ever be stolen, it's not going to make them famous. No one needs misshapen pencil sketches when they can get a good one from a good artist. (though maybe some do steal from kids just because kids won't find it out, kids won't know how to deal with it...)

But if it makes you feel better to copyright it beyond the basic protection that already exists, or if it makes you feel better to watermark it to death, by all means, I can't stop you. And if it makes you feel beetter, then you should do it. I'm sure there have been situations where people have gone 'dammit, I should have copyrighted that!'

But it usually helps to be popular, professional or even good to have your art stolen. Popular gets it out, and good gives people a reason to steal it. If they want a misshapen pencil sketch of Nurato they probably don't even have to go online, because they'll fall over three before they get to their computer.

None of this reflects on the OP's art, it's just a statement on art theft in general. Some stuff won't ever be stolen. If I look around my room, chances are if someone decided to steal anything, they'd take my CD player or computer or iPod--not the tacky doodle of a shadow creature or a treehouse concept sketch taped to my wall. If they were out to steal art from my family, they'd take the mountain painting upstairs, not my room of sketchy doodles.

I'd say the linked site on being an unscrupulous asshole also says 'you don't have to be a good artist to make money'. >< Just good at being an art thief, aye. XP

[RPin]

If someone tries to rip you off I'll pay for the legal fees myself

From my floating island pulled along by flying pigs

You can trust Komi because she has paid for every copyright battle a webcomic artist has been into. Each one of them.