Copyright and similar stuff

If you have money, you can fight, if you don't. Too bad.

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>>3033662
>tfw /ic/ doesn't care/know about that
It explains when think about it most people here don't want to write stories, they rather do illustrations for other people

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You can copyright your artwork,and basically the contents of your website for about 50 bucks online. I am a US citizen so I went to a gov website,uploaded the webpages to their site for review,and in a handful of weeks they approved it and sent me a certificate in the mail. I will say that either I communicated with the wrong parties or the right ones didn't understand "webcomic",but agreed the art and other img based files were copyrightable, which was good enough for me. I really couldn't picture myself tossing every image from it as jpegs,since this entailed hundreds of files and a lifetime of work,and my ISP at the time was cobbled together from my smartphone and its limited monthly data allowance. Others may help you more. I tried asking this at the Order of the Stick website forums,but got BANNED for being "political",believe it or not. So hopefully others are willing to explain such arcana to you.

>>3033662
Let's see it. Put your full name, the year and copyright symbol on it, with your website address below.

>>3035444
Ignore the troll.

>>3033662
According to US Copyright laws, copyrights are automatically granted once you produce something. As long as you have proof that you created it at a certain time, you don't have to do anything else to protect your IPs.

That said, stop using "people will steal my ideas" as an excuse to not do anything. Everybody has a ton of their own ideas. Ideas are worthless. Even if someone does steal your ideas, it's the execution of an idea that matters. Two people can use the same story idea and get very different results.

Also there are no people desperate enough to steal from shitty webcomics. They'd rather copy the popular flavor of the week instead.

Stop worrying about copyrights and start drawing dammit.

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>>3035444
>tfw you live in third world hellhole

>>3035479
Wait, is he trolling? I don't even

>>3035479
That person isn't trolling. I write Indie Fiction, and it's common knowledge to get your story copyrighted for $50. Because while your work is automatically "copyrighted", you have to be able to prove that it's yours if a lawsuit comes up (or if a company needs to verify that its yours). Now usually that is easy to do with artists, but if you have something like a webcomic, or an ongoing series, I highly recommend you get it copyrighted. That little bit of money can go a long way.

>>3035622
What he said, if you're really worried then just cough up the money it wont run you over 100 bucks.
If you're completely broke you can fed ex your art to yourself keep the dated receipt and leave the package closed but that's a last resort.

>>3035622
>but if you have something like a webcomic, or an ongoing series, I highly recommend you get it copyrighted.
How the fuck are you going to get your work stolen if it's a large ongoing series which is being uploaded to a certain website or blog of your own possession before anywhere else on the internet?
Paying for copyright is a fucking scam and doesn't prove shit. If it did then someone else could just pay money to "prove" your work as being theirs.
>b-b-but you can't pay for copyright unless you prove that the work is yours
If you can prove it's your work without paying then what's the point of paying?

>>3035622
Isn't the only thing you can get copyrighted the name? I mean, a webcomic isn't one concrete idea. New characters turn up and the story is in an organic, constant state of change. You wont just have a default copyright claim over basic character archetypes or a story.

If I for example wanted to do a webcomic about a demonic child from hell that was summoned by Rasputin during WW2 to bring the apocalypse on earth, but through a chain of events got raised by an American soldier and became a monster hunter working for a secret government organization and I call this story Boy from Hell, I would have every right to do so. People would laugh at my shameless plagiarism and my shitty execution, but in a court of law, it would count entirely as my own work as long as I didn't flat out trace panels and steal entire lines of text from the original.

>>3035633
>Isn't the only thing you can get copyrighted the name?
That's called trademarking.

>>3033662
Copyright is enacted upon creation, that said, it does help to pay for a copyright to help defend in court should anyone try to steal your work However, of you keep multiple blogs, that can also help serve as proof if you're low on cash.

Trademark however, isn't free. And this is your brand name. This one you do have tp register. However, you can do it online if you like.

>>3034887
People can steal a concept for a story much more easily than they can steal a design. I sure as shit don't share my story ideas on here because a couple of them benefit greatly from the lack of market saturation on a specific subject. That said, execution trumps concept, but unique concept + top tier execution + proper exposure = great success.

>>3035630
>Paying for copyright is a fucking scam

This is how a child talks. Copyrights are not a scam. This is how the law works, kid - an artist creates a copyright the moment they create something. However, to sue for statutory charges and lawyers fees, a registration needs to have been made 3 months prior to the infringement. Copyrights filed within 5 years of creation are treated as prima facie evidence in an infringement case, it's then upon the infringer to either prove the copyright doesn't exist, or their work isn't close enough to be considered an infringement.
These are real, legal reasons to have a filed copyright - if you sell anything creative, it's in your own best interest to file. It's a small fee, and not hard to do.
In the case of unpublished work, it's less crucial, as some form of dated publication, like a website, to show you came up with the idea first. You'd be able to force the infringer to remove their copy from the marketplace/view, but you won't be able to sue for damages. Even for something free, like a web comic, it's common sense to protect yourself with a copyright.
Understand how the laws work, and how copyrights work, before running your mouth, kid. You're not helping anyone, and you're only making yourself look like an ass.
And for the record? I've sued over copyright, and won. I've been dealing with my own copyrights and the copyrights of my clients, and the companies I've worked for, for probably longer than you've been alive.

>>3035625
>If you're completely broke you can fed ex your art to yourself keep the dated receipt and leave the package closed but that's a last resort.

That's a bit of an urban legend. According to the lawyer I've used for copyright issues, it's a fairly weak defense, because FedEx doesn;t record what's inside a box, and a box/envelope can be tampered with - the court has no way of knowing the chain of custody for an issue like that. You need an unimpeachable source that shows the art existed at a certain point in time - which is exactly what a copyright is for.
Again, if you're selling the work, the copyright fee is a no-brainer. For displaying art online that you have no intention of ever selling, it's better to attach a Creative Commons license to it, allowing linking and reposting, but no commercial use.
It should also be something in any contract you make, even for a $20 drawing off Tumblr or whatever - either give all rights away to the purchaser, so the defense is on them for infringement, or sell limited rights - but be ready to defend them. For instance, you can assign the right for someone to use the art for a forum profile or whatever, but you retain ALL publication rights.

>>3035824
I get your point but your post really reads like the navy seals copy pasta

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>>3035824
Everything you said is only relevant if you're a burgerboy.
The rest of the world isn't so retarded as to have to pay for the right to sue someone.