-----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the article below to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of... -----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the article below to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and theresource box below is included. -----------------------------------------------------------Simple Ways to Protect Your Creative WorkBy Stephen BucaroBeing productive and creative gives importance and meaningto the lives of many people. In some cases, it may alsoprovide them with a means to earn a living. Unfortunately,other people feel that it is easier to just steal someoneelse's work. How can a creative individual protect theirwork from thieves?Any work you create is automatically protected by copyrightlaw from the moment you create it until 50 years after yourdeath. To receive this protection, you must mark your workwith the word "Copyright" and the copyright symbol ©followed by the date that the work was created.Obviously a thief can easily remove your copyright noticeor replaced with one of their own. If legal action isrequired to stop a thief from using your work, you will berequired to PROVE that you were the original creator of thework.Proof of original authorship includes anything that can beaccepted as evidence in court. Along with witnesses, youcan submit sales receipts, and email or postal messagesrelated to the work. If a customer returns your material,you should save the receipt and packing material aspossible evidence.A common method of establishing proof of authorship is tomail or ship yourself a copy or photograph of the work.The postmark or shipping seal on the unopened packagebecomes evidence of the date that the work was created.After you establish your rights to the work, you must thenprove the amount of monetary damages caused by the theft.That requires that you provide evidence of sales revenuethat you lost and revenue received by the thief for yourwork.The best protection for your work can can be achieved byregistering it with the U.S. Copyright Office. You will berequired to provide a sample or photograph of your workwith your application along with a $20 fee. It may takesix months or more before the registration takes effect.The U.S. Copyright Office will then keep the copy of yourwork in storage for five years.If legal action is required against a thief of your work,U.S. Copyright Office registration is almost indisputableproof of your rights to the work. Registration also allowsyou to recover legal costs in addition to lost revenue.For more information, visit the U.S. Copyright Office Website at http://www.loc.gov/copyright/ . Download thepublication "Copyright Basics"Don't let a thief rob you of the rewards and recognitionyou deserve from your hard work and creativity. You canprotect your work by taking the simple steps describedabove.-----------------------------------------------------------Resource Box:Copyright(C)2002 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to maintainyour computer and use it more effectively to design a Website and make money on the Web visithttp://bucarotechelp.comTo subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter Send a blankemail to bucarotechelp-subscribe@topica.com----------------------------------------------------------- Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com