So after imploring countless people to register their artwork with the U.S. Copyright Office, I am proud to say that I finally got around to doing it myself! My Certificate of Registration just arrived in the mail the other day, and I'm psyched!
I honestly don't know why it took me so long, the process is incredibly easy. Basically, all you need is $30 and half an hour... and you can register everything you've ever painted.
Typically, registering a work with the copyright office costs about $30 per piece. But the really nice thing is, the piece being registered can be a collection of work. Meaning all the material contained therein is then registered as well.
Further more, if the work in question has never been printed (ie. a PDF), you can register it completely electronically. If you have printed it, you need to mail a hard copy to the Library of Congress for their records. That's a bit more work, and expense. So for the sake of ease, I recommend creating a new, electronic version of said book, just for registration purposes.
So here is what you do:
1. Make a PDF called 'The Art of Whatever".
2. Toss every piece you still own the rights to in it.
3. Go HERE
4. Create an account and fill out all the info regarding your work.
5. Send $30 electronically.
6. Wait 2 weeks, and your Certificate of Registration magically arrives in the mail!
Seriously. It's that easy. You've probably wasted more time on Facebook today than doing this actually takes. So come on, people! I want to see comments from everyone who did something really productive today!
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