Hi I writting this since I want some help.

This is the thing. I'm from Sweden (where I live) and I have written some poems and short stories. Does anyone know an easy way to register my work?

How does you writter protect your work?

Love Jenny

In the United States, written works are (theoretically) protected from the time they are written (which doesn't keep theft from happening but it means if you can prove when you wrote something, you can win a lawsuit; you don't need to go through a registration process).  The problem is, there is no world wide copyright or registration, that I know of.  The rules vary for country to country, and Sweden has its own laws governing your creative works:

http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/Publication____13676.aspx (I'm sure you can find a version in Swedish).

My rule is (and not everyone here agrees) that I don't put on the web anything I plan on getting published, because it is so difficult to protect one's work on the Internet.

What I would do, if I am worried on the issue, is make sure I have some proof of when I started writing something (in essence, dating my pages if I am writing in pen or pencil; making sure I don't write over the rough draft if I am writing on a computer so that the original date of the rough draft shows digitally).

I'm sure someone else knows more than I do on the topic. I hope they share their information. I am always interested to learn more.

Yeah, that's one reason I prefer to send things for crit amongst an online group via email rather than posting in public.

Funny thing is, my one and only Magnum Opus has two creation dates one 10 March 2001,

and one for: created -26 October 2004  yet it was also modified on: 28 September 2001 - which is impossible - unless you take into account various computer crashes and meltdowns with stuff saved from the wreakage...  Lol!

Or time travel.

:) I do understand that about sending to online groups if you want help and/or crit  -but what about things that are finished?

What about this example; (just an example, nothing that have happened to me in reallife  -but I do fear it)

I have an poem or story in Swedish online - then Mr Smith from US comes, he reads some of my written work (course he also know Swedish :)) Then he translate it, send it in to the U:S Copyright office and register his tranlated version has his.

1 year later I (by some way) finds my work somewhere, where Mr Smith is making huge money from my poem, that he have translated. (even if it is tranlated I do see it is mine, course if someone steals they propberly don't care of making much altering, and I think most artist recognice their work even when small changes have been done - but that is another matter :))

So I take contact with lawyers  -and the whole process, but here is the thing, my only proof is some handwritten pages in a poembook. And the coart of U.S means that he did register the work before me. I lose course I can't prove I created the orginal before Mr Smith.

So how does I protect this from happened? (Yeah I know don't make things avalible online)

Well some stories does I still have the paper I wrote them on, some I can proberly track down the teacher taht gace me grade on some other of my writings  -but what about the rest?

Ok I'm maybe too carefull, and "stupied" when it comes to reading all those copyright pages - but that is the darn thing  -most are in English  -Sweden is lightyears behind when it comes to copyrights. I mean it wasn't until this year filesharing become illageal.

Love Jenny

I don't know any way to keep anything 100% safe on the Internet except not publish it there.  A small protection would be to put it on a website that has password protections so that entry is restricted.

This is something the artists here struggle with all the time. They create something and then find someone else is displaying it on their website and claiming ownership of it. It is often a long and tedious process to get a thief to cease and desist.

Did you hear about a college student who was recently exposed as stealing from another young woman's published work?  Her book was published, and copyrighted, before it was discovered.  Even getting published doesn't protect yourself from theft--there's just no 100% solution.  But because she was so clumsy in her plagarism, people spotted the identical phrases from one book to the other and the book was pulled.  Your handwritten pages, dated, could be some proof of your effort having predated that of the thief.  There is also a volume of work. If you have written poem after poem after poem, and your thief has plagarized only one, you have proof of activity that presumably your thief doesn't.  No sure thing.

But my advice stands. If you intend to be published, don't put your poem on the web.  At least if you publish in a book or anthology or as part of contest, you may have some support from the publishing company to help you.   

:) So how about this - text on image = all Poems and short stories is not in html text, thay are on images  -this will make mark text, copy and paste a little harder. Then the pages with the "PoemsImage" are in password protection.

So should I make ppl register in order to get the password?

The another thing  -should I try get those "none to become publiced text" avalible on so many places I can? More ppl  reading them, more ppl recocite them. Make the "stand in ligth" my protection  -or keep standing in shadows?

I don't m,ind ppl reading, downloading my stuff  -as long as they don't claim it is theirs and/or make money.

Love Jenny

Quote - Or time travel.

Well as it happens, my supercharged Firefly, with the double stacked condensors and the Last Journey Instant Recall button - is in the shop having some body work done, but it should be ready by next Friday if you wanna borrow it...