Copyright Your Blog?
As a writer, I worry about people stealing my work. I’ve heard and read about authors whose work was used by agents or editors without any compensation. If that wasn’t enough to keep me hording my writing in the desk, the internet now adds a whole new dimension to my paranoia.
Copyrights are one of those things I’ve heard about, but never really understood. I’ve always thought it was some intense process that required money. It turns out that copyright is just proof that you produced the work.
Some blog sites will say at the bottom that the work is copyrighted, but no special process was done. You can register something with the US Copyright Office – which will make it easier to prove it is your creative work if you have a need to fight any infringement – but that is not necessary for the work to be protected. The simple fact that you produced the work makes it protected.
The internet is still a difficult place to police copyright infringements. Even big organizations find they need more protection. So instead of worrying so much, I will just save my big ideas for print.
