The 4 Can't Miss Keys To Copyright

Copyright is the writer's security blanket. It just makes you feel better to know your words are protected. I once knew a writer who was so scared his work would be stolen, he never sent it anywhere. Talk about counterproductive! But if you can understand these four simple copyright keys, you can rest easy and submit at will.
1. Create!
That's all you have to do to copyright something: write it. You don't have to publish it and you don't have to register it with the United States Copyright Office, although there are certain advantages to registration (see below). The moment a piece is written down, it automatically gains copyright and that copyright is owned by the author.
2. Give Notice.
That's when you put that little encircled "c" on the work. You View the rest of this article