Copyrighting

Any one know how you go about making sure written works are copyrighted please?
Ta

[MrC]

Are you wanting to know about how to copyright something you have written (if you have, what have you done, is it exciting or is it a secret?? ) or are you trying to find out about the status of somebody else's work?

@0_Lisa_0

It's just knitting patterns mr CM I need to know if I can copyright them, how I go about it.

[MrC]

Cool, sounds like fun. Are you going to sell or share them?

src: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/copy.htm

Copyright protects written, theatrical, musical and artistic works as well as film, book layouts, sound recordings, and broadcasts. Copyright is an automatic right, which means you don't have to apply for it.

Which would suggest that as far as the UK is concerned your pattern would be covered by copyright without any form of registration or even needing a copyright notice displayed on the document. Personally I think it's probably best to put a notice on there so people are clear, but generally they should assume the work is copyright even if it displays nothing. Generally it's a good idea to publish the work somewhere where a date of publication is recorded so that if someone takes your work you can prove prior art. I've heard people sometimes post their document to themselves recorded delivery and don't open the envelope as the date of posting can be used to prove prior art. Don't quote me on that though. The trouble is that some countries interpret copyright differently and some don't recognise it at all, so if you think that may be an issue you should probably look at attaching a specific written license to your work.

For sharing you might want to take a look at the creative commons licenses here:

http://creativecommons.org/choose/

They are frequently used for patterns that people want to share but protect themselves from someone else profiting from their IP or passing it off as their own amongst other things. Generally all you have to do is add something like "This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License." or one of the other relevant licenses to the document. The page above is a very simple form that will help you choose the right license.

Thank you
I am hoping to make them available, I Nwver thought I would be brave enough to write my own patterns but I figure i my as well give it a go
I had asked Ali to see if it was ok to ask for a couple of pattern testers on the forum but she was busy when I asked so I think she may have forgotten, so would it be ok?
Thanks for your help Joel

There is a free pattern testers group on Rav. I designed a couple of patterns a few months ago & got them tested on there. The testers are really good but the admin can be a bit heavy handed so make sure you comply with all the rules & the templates or you get warnings galore!

[MrC]

Absolutely, you're more than welcome to Lisa. We could even put it up for download if that's along the lines of what you want to do with it.

I remember Joeli did one some time ago and it was really appreciated by many.

@0_Lisa_0

Thanks Joel I will crack on with it then and be in touch
Cath I have used the FPT group in Rav but like you say they are a bit strict and it's much easier for me to find my way round on here