In this document I will tell you how copyright works (in the U.S.), how to protect your rights to your work, and what to expect in resolution of disputes.

It's supposed to be very simple. When you write something, it is copyrighted. Yes, right then, nothing else need happen beyond the creation of a new, unique work.

But it's never so simple

There are two ways to formally protect your work. The first is very easy, if not officially sanctioned and the second costs $30 and possibly other fees.

Poor Wo/Man's Copyright

1. Print a legible copy of your work, or write it clearly on a piece of paper.
2. Put it in a sealed package, the more tamper-proof it is the better.
3. Mail it to yourself. The postmark on the package will date it.
4. Do not open it! If there ever is a dispute, you can take it into court unopened for examination and opening under official auspices. If there is no sign of tampering on it, you will have a good case. (in my non-lawyer opinion)
5. Place it in a safe deposit box or similar place

If you wish to use this method outside a court of law, perhaps mailing yourself several of these is a wise choice.

Official Copyright

Registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office costs $30 and takes 4-5 months for your certificate to arrive. You can pay them $325/hr for expedited service but that is rarely worthwhile for our purposes. [more info on fees]

If you write only for pleasure, maybe all this trouble is not worth it for you.

DarkPoetry.com's Policy on Copyright Disputes

We will provide any information requested by a court of law, or at our discretion another party which acts to mediate a dispute. Information not immediately relevant to the dispute may not be provided to protect the privacy of our members unless it is required by a court of law.

Generally you will get the best results handling the problem yourself. Every work on the site can be commented on, and a comment pointing out that a work is used without permission or unlawfully often is all it takes to shame the posting person into taking it down.

If this is not the case, you have made attempts to contact the offending party, and not had any satisfactory response within a week's time we may get involved. Our criteria for removing a work on this grounds will be based on the following in order of importance:

1. Officially Registered Copyright (please provide the certificate)
2. Verifiable written proof (see poor wo/man's copyright)
3. Work's Original Creation Date Timestamp in our database (oldest work is usually the original)

On satisfying the standard of proof, the work will be removed and other disciplinary action may be taken at our discretion.