Just thought I'd pass this along for whatever it's worth. A ways down this article about Britney Spears' copyright case is a reference to something called a "poor man's copyright". Apparently it's next to worthless for copyright infringement, but I bet it might come in handy for a plagiarism case - to prove how long ago you wrote your thingie. Anyway, here it is:

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/..._id=1001476156

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Bugsy



[This message has been edited by Lightning Bug (edited November 11, 2005).]

Well, emails would be chancy anyway. The only real poor persons' copyright, far as I know, is the old reliable sealed envelope, mailed to yourself (the artist/author) by registered mail.

That is very popular here in Nashville. You can even tell the clerk at the post office that you're doing a "poor man's copyright" and they'll postmark your envelope by hand and give it back to you. So you don't have to wait for it to be delivered.

Don't know why it has to be certified mail, but I've mailed myself a copy of the first draft of every poem I've written in the last 10 years or so. I note the name of the poem on the outside for reference and file the sealed and postmarked envelope away in case anybody ever wants to sue me over ownership of one of my own poems.

Another trick I've heard is admissible in court and which applies to exposure from workshopping (especially if you've posted before the ink is dry) is to take a picture of your poem on the screen when you first post it. Hover your cursor over the time so that the date shows, and use the Print Screen key for taking the picture. Then paste the graphic into a new document in Word or whatever word processor you use. It saves the screen as a graphic that can't be edited, complete with date and time of posting and of taking the picture. I try to remember to do that when I post a new poem on the internet. It doesn't establish when you actually wrote the poem, but unless you've showed it to others before posting it, a plagiarist shouldn't be able to document a prior date.

Carol

Good heavens.

Well, that article seems to suggest that "poor man's copyright" is pretty useless. This article ought to reinforce that idea:
http://www.snopes.com/legal/postmark.asp

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Steve Schroeder

Interesting thread.

I never worried about copyright, because I never regarded my poetry as having any financial value.

Sonnet Central has a useful archive, and most of what I've written is there, though really for back-up purposes not copyright protection.

I was contacted by a teacher once, because one of her pupils had plagiarised my work and he was adamant it was his. (It was my "Father of the Man" poem, an unusual choice for a teenager.) She declined to tell me whether she'd given it an A grade, which was my primary concern.

Best regards,
David

No poem has any financial value. It's the glory, David, it's the glory. How would you like it if the little perisher won the Nemerov with Father of the Man?

Carol

Stephen,

My understanding is that the PMC, would NOT be of any value in a copyright infringement suit. But, I think a writer could still sue for plagiarism, and collect monetary and punitive damages. But, first you must be able to prove that you wrote the thing before the other guy, at the very least.

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Bugsy

[This message has been edited by Lightning Bug (edited November 11, 2005).]

Carol,

Do you really think that is true, no financial value? I'd rather the statement be, Most poems have no financial value. You can make money with a poem. All you have to do is write something on the level with Stopping by Woods... or Paradise Lost or some others.

TJ