I am working on some obj's and when I get finished with them I would like to share them with othersbut I also want to put my trademark on them but I have never done it. how do you put a trademark on them them???

PS im using poser5 and 3dmax5

Trademark is different from copyright, which is what you mean - claiming the wrong thing might give you problems if you ever try to enforce it. You can add a comment to an OBJ file, but it can easily be removed: as well as, or instead of, that you should put a readme file in the zip with the objects saying what they are, what restrictions you put on them (can they be used for paid work? Can they be redistributed freely (if so you would usually say the readme must be included)?), that they are copyright treeabear (or your real ID) and provide some sort of contact. There is a Copyright forum here - it's towards the bottom of the list.

Some commercial meshes I've seen include the copyright information within the mesh itself: so if you look hard in some out of the way place, you'll see 3D text saying "Copyright Bodgit and Run Ltd." or whatever. It can still be removed with a 3D modeller, but it shows you're serious. :) Adds to the poly count though

And stops it working in Tailor - which doesn't like comments in .obj files. So for Poser use you'll want to place near top where user can remove to run it in Tailor. Format of copyright should be of the form: Copyright (C) 2003 Bodgit and Run Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Year should be year it is/was actually published. If it is republished in subsequent years you'd do something like 2001, 2003 you don't include the years for which it existed but wasn't republished. If you publish every year for number of years, you might show date as 2000-2003 All software is automatically copyrighted by publishing in US, but a .obj file might not be determined to be software per se, so putting in the copyright statement is not a bad idea. You'd also want to include as a copyright text file in the package when you publish, in case the use doesn't knwo they can open .obj files in a text editor.

An Obj file (as a generic document, not as a method of data storage) is also automatically copyrighted. Some software may strip out comments when editing/opening/resaving obj files, so it's necessary to include a readme file with the copyright notice, as well as documenting when you created the obj file and text file. Since thieves will delete the readme file when they try to sell the obj file, it becomes difficult to prove a violation unless you can get a copy of the suspected stolen obj file.

One method its to create yourself a 3D logo_ nice and simple tho. Then boolean it out of the base of the object. It does increase the poly count but it can't easily be removed. It makes it easier to spot your mesh and might disuade 'casual' abusers of your copyright. Always keep your working copies of your original meshes. File creation dates which i believe are encoded might help you if it came to a copyright dispute.

Unfortunately file dates can be faked: the usually recommended technique is to seal a copy in an envelope, put a stamp over the closure and get it date-stamped by the Post Office. You might want to add a line " asserts his/her moral right [to be identified as the creator]" too.

Ooops - there should have been "your name here" in angle brackets at the start of the quote.