Has anyone ever heard of a 'poor man's copyright' actually working in a court?

After researching your issue, I found that there is no basis in law for a poor man's copyright in US law. While this is not true of every country (UK law, for example, states that it 'may help' in a lawsuit), the best way to protect your work is by registering it with the US copyright office.

You will have to register it. The envelope proof will be interesting in court room but cannot hold up as sufficient proof that you had it prior - that is just the way the US legal system works.

I forgot to mention to this the other day, forgive me:

If you are worried about the cost or procedure of copyright, one option for you that may work is to go onto a public site such http://www.poetry.com and post your song in poem form (or on live journal, etc.). Poetry.com has copyrights that they must post for each individual user and each individual poem that user submits.

In the event that someone does use your material without legal consent, you can contact Poetry.com (or whichever public posting DATED entry sites you choose) and ask for a statement reflecting the date you posted your material and/or take a screen capture of your song's post on the site and print it out for your records - it will show the date and year you posted it.

This is not an official copyright but it should hold up quite a bit better if ever someone steals your work.

I think it's great that your asking. Many people just go out and start doing something new only to find out that someone else takes the idea.



I'm not an attorney so this is no legal advice but here's some guidance (I'm sure someone else can expand on this and hope someone will verify it)...



I'm not sure by your post but there are 3 things you could be dealing with; 1) Patents; 2) Copyright; or 3) Trademark.



The general rule on all is to have a public record of your 'thing' as early as possible. That record may be with the US Patent Office, etc. but it's a bit of a game because the less money you have, the more careful and complete you need to be.



Patents are the most expensive to get and the most risky. Typically an attorney is your best bet but there are do-it-yourself opportunities.



Copyrights are easy. You can fill out the appropriate form and include a copy of your work and send it in with a small check. Last time I did one I think it was $60 or so.



Trademarks are more complex because they are difficult to clearly identify. Assuming you want to trademark something like a logo, you can simply add a small "TM" just outside the graphic area. This is an indication to anyone who sees it that you are claiming it as unique and yours. You haven't registered it, but you're giving notice. You really need to put this on EVERYTHING that includes the logo (or whatever it is). You can also register a logo which means that it's on record that it's yours, then you would use the "R" in the circle (R) indicating that it's registered.



The date you create public evidence of your claim to the intellectual property is important because intellectual property is hard to clearly research. If a dispute ever arises because two people have a logo that look very similar, whomever can prove theirs existed first, wins. This is a bit oversimplified but generally a good way to look at it.



Placing something in an envelope and mailing it to yourself is probably not the best bet because it's easily manipulated. You may want to look deeper into options.



Good luck - I hope what you have brings you lots of money and happiness.

No

My Dad always says to do this if I had an idea of a new invention. It seems like somehow the jury could empathize with you if there were an actual date on it... It wouldn't hurt to try!

No, absolutely not. It has never stood up in a U.S. court of law, and the government's own web site (www.copyright.gov) is pretty clear about that. If you have lyrics and/or music that you truly believe is the next million-dollar song, the $35 fee to register it will turn out to be a small yet very wise investment.