How to secure a copyright
Your copyright is secured automatically upon creation.
The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. However, there are definite advantages to registering your material for records with a copyright service.
Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is "created" when it is fixed in a copy or electronic transmission for the first time. The right to copy and distribute the work is secured by copyright laws, but the documentation of following those laws is secured with a copyright service.
It is important to document your authorship and copyrights in order to establish evidence of ownership of copyrights to sell. The sale of copyright can be understood as copies sold, either in hard copy or by electronic transmission.
"Copies" are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either direction or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm.
"Electronic transmission" is transferring by electronic medium, the fixations of sound, visual and/or text material by electronic device.