Q&A for How to Copyright Poetry

No, they're not the same. Anyone can "claim" ownership (authorship) of poetry, a book, etc. by putting the c symbol at the bottom. Just because the poetry is yours as soon as you created the work doesn't mean that someone will not try to attempt to place claims on your work. Registering your work is PUBLIC PROOF that you are in fact the author, in case someone were to attempt to make claims on your writings.

You automatically have copyright and moral rights in any original creation you have made. You can indicate that you are enforcing that copyright by placing the (C) copyright symbol next to each poem. The thing is monitoring misuse of the poems rather than seeking to claim it. Beware paying anyone who claims to copyright things for you.

If you're looking for proof of when you wrote something, mailing it to yourself is one way. However, you cannot enforce your copyright in the USA unless you also register it with the US Copyright Office before suing someone.

You can hire companies for "copyright clearance" to get a legal opinion after a diligent search. However, most copyrighted works are never registered anywhere, and many countries don't require registration.

No, your protection begins when you first put your creative work into tangible form. Registration is necessary in the US for proof in federal court, but every part of every poem in a book is equally protected by law.

Your nationality has little to do with your copyright ownership under US laws. Your ownership in your country of origin would be determined by the laws of that country, in conformity with international treaties.

Copyright automatically covers any original work of creative authorship once it is embodied in a "tangible form," such as a written or recorded version.

You own the copyright whether or not you register it. You can use your works as you like and may add the copyright symbol and year to remind others of your ownership rights.

Yes, you can use your copyrighted poems to create derivative works, like greeting cards, which you already own the copyright to.

You automatically own the copyright of each poem as you write it. For best protection, you can register your works with the US Copyright Office. They allow you to file a new registration for a later edition that includes additional or modified works, but the original copyright duration remains the same for each work.

The duration of copyright protection depends on when and where the work was created, the type of work, and the country where you want to enforce it. Generally, by international treaty, it's 50 years or more, but the U.S. and other countries often provide much longer protection.

If you're American, you still own the copyright for any original creative work you authored. Registration is optional until you need proof for use in U.S. federal court. You likely only granted the website a license, not transferred ownership, so you can download a new copy (if online) or find your original, then submit a registration application as detailed in the article.

If you created an original work of authorship, for your own purpose (and not for an employer) then you are the owner of the copyright. Whether you used a pencil or a computer doesn't matter.

Yes, you can. The copyright registration also extends to "derivative works", and if you edit enough differences you may want to file a new registration for poems 2.0.

You follow the steps listed above in this article, assuming you already own the copyrights.

That could qualify as a suitably complicated situation that can benefit from discussing the circumstances with a professionally trained copyright attorney in your country.

They are either already copyrighted (by rule) or not, depending upon when and where they were created, whether they were ever published, and other circumstances. If he wrote them less than 120 years ago, and did not publish them (in the USA) they are still copyrighted and you have the legal right to register his/your ownership according to how the estate assets were transferred to heirs.

You can register the copyright of the entire work or individual poems. If you are not the author of all of the poems, it can still be registered as one "collective work".