Copyright your material through your website!

[El Brenty]

Here's a novel way of getting easy and legal copyright of the contents of your website, which may include movie clips, scripts, etc:

https://www.securepaynet.net/gdshop/cop ... 809&se=%2B

[Grant]

We were taught at uni that all works are automatically covered by copyright once they are created now. I will have to read back over my notes from last year lol

[lethelgirth87]

I think I'd rather just take the chance of someone stealing my work and claiming it as their own, because in the end, I know that I'm the real owner, and anything I put up on my website is priceless.

[DEDFX]

Or you could sue them for all the money/fame they made off of your movie.

[El Brenty]

The problem with electronic storage of media is that the dates can be altered - When I upload to my server, I can upload the original date. If I change the clock in my PC, I can pretend I created something sooner than I actually did. That way, someone does have the potential of taking your work, and claiming it to be theirs. You would have to prove otherwise, and unless you backup your work onto a CD, seal it and giveit to a solicitor to store, things could get complicated.

The C-Site system effectively does that, it electronically registers and records your work legally.

[Epsilon]

Technically, anything you create and put online is copyrighted. However, it may be easier to prove yourself the original creator if you have a protection thingie like that on there. Just state on every page that all your material is copyrighted and place your logo on everything. That is usually enough to ward off thieves. I believe these agency copyright protections are more charging money for something not usually necessary.

I have all the original, enlarged, unaltered pictures and past webpage versions I've created stored in folders on my computer. If somebody is gaining off my work, I can pull those out and disprove anything they say against me, and sue their booties!

[crossfire]

my movies arent that good to copyright them, if anyone actually wants to steal them, i just say go ahead, if you're crazy enough to want them, then take them!

[El Brenty]

I'm stealing them and calling them mine then!

[britishbulldog]

all you movie makers have company names like broken stick productions i have one but are your official do u have to do it all officaly or you just say it and thats it

[SpyroClone]

one way to prove you made something without getting a copywrite is send yourself a letter...Through the mail...that talks about what you did. Then when you get the letter don't open it, just put it somewhere safe, and the postmark will be your proof of date.

[Grant]

I have heard of that one but I am sure that i have read that there has not been any cases of it actually being tested

[Raptor]

Copyright is established asd soon as something is 'fixed' in some kind of media, written photgraphed, recorded.. Proof of that date does become a bit more complicated. The only way to actually register a copyright id through your national copyright office. In the US it costs $30.00. You can however register multiple items as a collection for that $35.00 and each element of that collection is independently protected. A group of photographs , several different videos could be a collection.
The official registration of copyright is the ONLY sure way to establish date of first use. Th writers guild also offers a registration service, but that is not iron clad. Establishment of the date is subjective, and without official registration, is up to the discretion of the court. The difference between a registered and unregistered copyright is in the damages you can sue for. Unregistered you can only sue for direct loss, the amount they made using your material. You can however get a cease and desist order which will prevent them from using that material any further. With registered copyright, you can sue for not only those direct losses, but also for statutory damages- in other words you can sue for much more than the actual loss you incurred.
Now the question becomes why you would want to pay these guys $15.00 ( or more ) on top of the registration fee for a relatively simple procedure?....