Okay, you knew I was going to get to this sooner or later.  Intellectual Property.  You probably hate it.  You may have pirated some anime or MP3s or something in the past.  You might even be a card-carrying member of the Pirate Bay.  Well, it's time to talk copyright, and time to turn you into, at best, a copyright advocate; at worst, into a hypocrite.  So, let's begin, shall we?

Oh, and I got you some theme music while you read the article.

Now that we've gotten that out of your system, let me explain the reality of things: no, I'm not here to lecture you about why pirating is bad, or why you shouldn't do it or whatever.  What I'm going to do instead is to let you know that you need to register your trademarks/servicemarks and copyright.

Copyright

Let's take it from the top.  From the very beginning you set something in motion – the moment you type that first word or draw that first line, it's copyrighted.  But if someone steals it, takes it or whatever, if you don't have it registered, the most you can do is pay a lawyer to file a cease and desist…and hope the offender listens.  In other words, not much.  Registering your copyright is vital, especially in this globally connected day and age (that is, unless you like Chinese authors blatantly ripping off your work).  You see, registering your copyright not only protects you in the US (of which we'll be discussing all of this from an American POV; sorry, Canukian readers!) but thanks to the Berne Convention, your works are protected globally (bear in mind that the Berne Convention is not a "international copyright"; like any international law, it's just agreements between two countries and the mileage may vary – again, see China).  Additionally, registering your copyright allows you to (if you feel you need to) sue for damages, lost sales, injunctions (though, contrary to rumor, it will not let you sue just because you think the infringer is a meanie) and other concrete things.

Copyright is fairly easy to do (or so says the Copyright Office), and fairly inexpensive.  You could hire a lawyer to do it, but that's essentially one thing that you must decide upon.  Regardless, registering your copyright is a must.  

Oh, and for those of you who are asking, the Poor Man's Copyright is not even remotely legal, so don't bother.

Trademarks/Servicemarks

Trademarks and Servicemarks (which for the sake of laziness I will just call "Marks") are arguably even more vital.  The major thing about Marks is that if you don't protect it, you will lose it.  Don't believe me?  Just ask the folks who created aspirin, elevators, yo-yos and zippers.  Ask why Xerox fights for its name, why Kimberly-Clarke and Adobe fight to ensure Kleenex and Photoshop don't enter the daily lingo.  Or, for that matter, why McDonald's (the burger chain) has for years fought McDonald's (the unrelated restaurant run by – get this – Ronald McDonald).  The term is called "trademark erosion" or "genericide" and when that happens, oh boy do you have problems.

But before you even get to that point, you need to register your trademark.  Why?  Pretty much because if you don't, you're only allowed what is called a "local copyright", meaning that whereever your business (assuming you have one; if not, you're really screwed) is, that's about it; the registrant will get it everywhere else. Again, if you don't believe me, you can just ask Amazon (the independent bookstore, not the retail giant).  Of course, this works both ways; if you've been using the name longer, you can force an agreement with the registrant (again, see Amazon vs. Amazon).  This is complicated stuff, which is why you need to do your homework now.

Again, you can do the Mark registration yourself, though you can also consult with a lawyer regarding that.  In many cases, you are best off going with a lawyer.  You can also use a dedicated trademark filer (many of them also do copyright as well).  What you go with is ultimately up to you.

So…do I have to give up my Pirate Bay T-Shirt?

Probably not (chances are, you wouldn't listen anyway).  But it also forces you to think of how you'll handle such things as parody (legal), fair use (also legal), fanworks (gray area) and the guy on the corner selling DVDs of your work (probably not legal).  You can be like several creators out there, who have gone so far as to sue their fans over copyright and trademark issues.  Or you could take it with a grain of salt and use the derivative works (the legal definition for fanworks) as bonus advertising and great way to bond with your fans.  Just be aware of what your legal standing is in regards to the intellectual properties and your rights and that of the "infringer", who in fact may not actually be infringing.

Now, I'll let you go shut off the music above unless you want to hear that song for the next ten hours.

Tomorrow: Day 18 – Originality is SO Unoriginal.