Don't Turn Off Your Firewall, Unless Of Course It's For the U.S. Copyright Office

Yes, yes, I know that copyright belongs to the author the moment he or she puts all those ideas into a “fixed form,” i.e. text.  And of course this gets translated onto the copyright page of whatever literary work is being produced. Still, I can’t help but have that nagging feeling that someone is going to come out of the woodwork and steal it from me.

Maybe it’s because Theodore Nusselbaum did exactly that in the third grade and walked away with my essay on owls. To this day, the scars run deep… So, in order to protect myself from the Theodores of this world, I file a copyright with the U.S. Government every time I publish a new novel. Hey, it only costs $35.00 for all that peace of mind. ($65.00 if you don’t want to file it electronically).

However, the process itself can give you nightmares! I’ll warn you right away – There is nothing “user-friendly” about the site. Still, most people who are somewhat computer literate can manage. But there are two bumps along the way that are nerve jolting.

One – Leaving the site to pay the $35.00 fee. All of sudden, a warning pops up that you will now be leaving the secure government site for some other government payment site. It asks you if you’re sure you want to do this. Kind of reminds me of those warnings on funhouses or Halloween Horror Mansions where they say “ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.”

Then there’s the second bump and this one’s a dozy! You have to turn-off your firewall (Pop-up blocker) in order to proceed. Yikkees! That’s like saying you must keep your garage door open before you can enter the house. Only it isn’t scorpions, snakes or black widow spiders that I have to worry about.  It’s every conceivable kind of internet threat out there! – Spyware, malware, access to my personal date or heaven forbid – something pornographic that gets slipped onto my computer!!!  And I wouldn’t be able to blame it on the cats. No wonder I’m such a wreck when I do this.

But I’ve learned to do it quickly. I can turn-off my Firewall for only five minutes and get my book registered. I just hope in that five minutes, no one gets to me first! Still, it’s a small price to pay for all those Theodore Nusselbaums out there!

The choice is all yours.