I am planning to register my finished product electronically in the copyright office.

I have a screenplay, a website and an animated short movie made from poser.

I think I can only copyright the screenplay which contain the story and the character names.

The website name, I am not sure.

The renders, I am thinking not because they are from poser figures and props and they might change in the future.

If I decide to make small episodes based from the original story in the future, do I have to copyright each screenplay?

You might look at trademarks.

Quote - I am planning to register my finished product electronically in the copyright office.

I have a screenplay, a website and an animated short movie made from poser.

I think I can only copyright the screenplay which contain the story and the character names.

The website name, I am not sure.

I do not think the mere name of a website is copyrightable, but you might consider registering a trademark associated with the name of the website.

Quote - The renders, I am thinking not because they are from poser figures and props and they might change in the future.

With renders you mean the movie, i assume? Surely you can register that. It makes sense to register it after you have changed it, however.

Quote - If I decide to make small episodes based from the original story in the future, do I have to copyright each screenplay?

No, strictly speaking you only have to register those which will be the subject-matter of a lawsuit. Apart from that, there is no automatic registration for things that do not yet exist. Perhaps you could consider registering the main characters from your stories instead, if you are planning a TV show or something like that.

For starters, i found this book easy to read:

http://www.amazon.com/Patent-Copyright-Trademark-Intellectual-Reference/dp/1413316808/ref=sr_1_3

Contains a section on where to send your forms and what they look like, too (you will find the same information on the internet also, but more scattered).

As I understand it:

You can register a whole collection of stuff -- for instance, "Joe Blow's Writing 2012" or "John Doe's Photographs Unpublished" -- all at once, as long as none of it has been published already.  If it's already been published, then you can only register those parts that were published in any given calendar year all together, and I don't think you can do it via the online tool yet, but would have to mail it in.

Copyright office refuses to define what constitutes publication, however.

You can register a website -- the content, images, and actual source code. (The name would have to be trademarked).  But there are issues surrounding website content that is constantly being updated; for example, a blog.

The character names would need to be trademarked as well, I think.

I'm not sure you can register a "story" at all -- only the specific way of telling it.

But I'm far, far from any kind of certainty about any of it.

Best to ask a lawyer.

Registering probably isn't worth it.   Costs about $50, requires quite a bit of documentation, and doesn't give you anything special.    Pirates aren't going to be slowed down by a registration.

It's worthwhile for the big music and movie companies who may make millions from a product, and want maximum documentation to run a major lawsuit.  At our level, not remotely cost-effective.

Quote - Registering probably isn't worth it.   Costs about $50, requires quite a bit of documentation, and doesn't give you anything special.    Pirates aren't going to be slowed down by a registration.

It's worthwhile for the big music and movie companies who may make millions from a product, and want maximum documentation to run a major lawsuit.  At our level, not remotely cost-effective.

I was thinking about this too. I am getting burdened with the research and legal mumbo jumbo as of now.

I am also going to be partnering with other people by combining my story with their stories in the future that's why I am thinking about registering to avoid problems. If my work gets pirated, I dont care actually. I will like the free marketing.

Quote -
http://www.amazon.com/Patent-Copyright-Trademark-Intellectual-Reference/dp/1413316808/ref=sr_1_3

Thanks for this book, I will get a copy from my local library now.

registering a copyright makes you eligable for punative damages if you sue and win.  Non-registered is only eligable for actual damages, which can be difficult to show if you havent generated an income from your work.

Not sure where you are located, but this might be of some help, particularly Sections 3 & 9:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_States

Three = Works Subject to Copyright Law (your original stuff, Owl old bean).

Nine = Infringement (possibly stuff your stuff is based on).

I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on teevee, but this looks like a good place to start getting terms and concepts for further research.

Quote - > Quote - Registering probably isn't worth it.   Costs about $50, requires quite a bit of documentation, and doesn't give you anything special.    Pirates aren't going to be slowed down by a registration.

It's worthwhile for the big music and movie companies who may make millions from a product, and want maximum documentation to run a major lawsuit.  At our level, not remotely cost-effective.

I was thinking about this too. I am getting burdened with the research and legal mumbo jumbo as of now.

I am also going to be partnering with other people by combining my story with their stories in the future that's why I am thinking about registering to avoid problems. If my work gets pirated, I dont care actually. I will like the free marketing.

Edited because TL:DR

It costs $35 and can be done online. Also you can register a collection of works, though there are limitations on that. If you're working with other people, I am not sure how that works. You'll want to find out.

This thread is interesting, and worth reading:

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/forumpro/showthread.php?thread_id=2851282&page=5

Pirates may not be slowed down by registration. But pirates aren't the only ones infringing copyright.