Well, in the Year of our Ford, 1976, much to my amazement
and delight, Congress revamped the 1904 copyright law that
had been festering on the books like an old sore.
The Law as enacted is called Public Law 94-553, but we
just call it Title 17, and it came into effect on 1/1/1977.
The Library of Congress, which holds the key to the stacks,
has been issuing circulars to help do-it-yourself types
file their own copyrights. Contrary to the incipient
paranoid sentiments about big publishers holding sway in T&B,
the law is really intended to afford common folk the
protection of the law. One is shown by these publications
how to fill out the requisite forms. Filing fees are very
low.
It's been a while since I used the service. I'm into patents
these days. I'll bet it's all paperless. A visit to the LoC
on the web is in order.
Tom