This practice is often called the “Poor Man’s Copyright” and the idea has been around for a long time. The theory is that mailing a copy of a work to yourself will provide you with certain legal rights akin to a copyright registration so long as the envelope remains sealed and bears a postmark by the United States Postal Service.

Recently, we filed an application to register the copyright for Finny the Fish. In the United States, and in many other countries, copyright protection arises at the moment a work is fixed in tangible medium. So, why would we take the extra step to register Finny’s copyright?

Both trademark law and copyright law may protect your logo, although the protection they provide differs. Trademark law would prohibit the unauthorized use of another’s logo that is sufficiently similar to your logo such that it is likely to cause confusion in the marketplace.