Copyrighting software

I'm looking into copyrighting my game, but don't know how to do it nor what form to use. The US Copyright website has several forms, but I don't know which one I need to use for a software product.

Hey!!!

Here's the brilliant, cheap, legally binding copyright trick, works if you are in the united states. Best of all, it is very simple.

All you do:

1. Put your product in an envelope, seal it up.
2. Take it to the post office.
3. Have it mailed to your address by certified mail.
4. Put it in a safe place, and absolutely do not open it.

If you have to take it to court, bring the envelope. The postal certified-mail stamp is federal-government, legally binding proof that you were the first to create this product. This will provide legal protection if you go to court, if someone were to dispute the ownership of the product.

You can also include a notarized document stating that it is your creation/property as well. Putting an EULA on the published product and copyright notice should also be valid.

If you want to obtain a real copyright, you might want to borrow/buy a book from Nolo Publishing, who makes a great DIY series of legal books, complete with all the forms you need.

But the postal certification is absolutely valid legal proof that it is yours, and a US judge must recognize it as federal government certification in a legal dispute.

Good luck

I would prefer very strongly to register it. I don't like that idea. I did this with my story, which used form PA, but this is a software program and is otherwise different. My best guess would be form VA (visual arts), but then again, it's not entirely arts. It's a bunch of 0's and 1's in either magnetic form or as microscopic bumps on a circular disk.

As I briefly mentioned above, probably the easiest way to get a real registered copyright without a lawyer would be by getting the Nolo Press book on it. Nolo Press is a cheaper alternative to lawyers/paralegals.

I'm pretty sure it has readable explanations and all the forms at the back of the book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0873372...2771849?ie=UTF8

As I've stated twice now, I want to register copyright for my game. What I'm after is what form do I use from here? From there, I can fill out the form and send it and the needed material to copyright. I've done this with my script before and it worked out well. However, for a story, that's easy as it'd be form PA if it's for performances (as with the style of my stories) or form TX if a standard book form is used. Neither of these apply to a software program.

In Germany you get the Copyright by finishing a work!!

It's otherwise the same in the US, but registering it gives added advantages and that's what I'm after. I can't tell if form VA is what I need (or what form I need as is). That's why I posted this question.

The mail yourself copyright is a myth. I found this on the U.S. Copyright website:

Quote:

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I’ve heard about a “poor man’s copyright.” What is it?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.

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Can't really help you any further, but I wouldn't use the poor man's copyright..