Poor Man's Copyright
- Can I protect my copyright by mailing copies of my artwork to myself?
Mailing a copy of your work to yourself may be comforting but it provides minimal proof or evidence of ownership of your copyright. The best way to protect your copyright is to register your work properly.
If I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone repeat this bad piece of advice, I'd be wealthy. It's amazing how enduring this urban myth is. I remember people telling me to mail copies of my artwork to myself when I was a teenager, and sad to say, that was a long time ago.
Recently a huge copyright disagreement between a designer and a stock art company exploded on the internet. I was surprised when many web surfers commenting on the case recommended that artists and designers should mail copies of their own work to themselves. I thought that with terraytes of information on the web at our disposal, this copyight myth would fade into oblivion. I guess I was mistaken.
If you ever end up in court to defend your copyright against someone who has plagiarized or infringed your work think twice before assuming that this envelope you mailed to yourself will be accepted as authoritative evidence in your favour. For all they know you might have sent an unsealed envelope to yourself, had it postmarked, and then added material later. There are any numbers of ways this strategy could be challenged in court.
The US Government Copyright Office states that "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" 1.
References
1. http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html
Disclaimer
These pages are for educational purposes only. This site offers a combination of fact, anecdotal information and editorial opinion of the writer, none of which should be construed as legal advice. If you require legal assistance on any aspect of copyright law, please contact a lawyer.