Copyright Symbols on Animal Jam Blogs

Sorry for the utterly boring post yesterday. Today I will do my best to amuse you all.

We do indeed have a new Spiked Wristband in Epic Wonders. Same colors as the Collar, as far as I know.

And, as the main topic of this post, I will bring up copyrights on Animal Jam Blogs. First of all, many people believe that if you have a little © on your blog, it means big trouble for anyone who copies you. That is not true. Here, I will review each copyright symbol, when you can use them, and what they mean.

© - Copyright
Everybody automatically has a copyright over things they have created - writing, drawings, and photos. This symbol does not need to be put on your blog in order to have a copyright. However anyone can use this symbol as a reminder to your viewers. If someone steals your work, even if you have the symbol on your blog, you really can't do anything about it. Unless your blog is a big money making business, your are likely not to sue anyone for a little thing like that. (Kids can't sue anyway...)

™ - Trademark
Anyone can use this, too. It is generally a copyright for a phrase or name. Like the copyright above, you cannot do anything really if someone copies the phrase/name you have a trademark symbol on. The symbol is just a reminder - unless you have registered it. Read more below.

® - Registered
This is the symbol you cannot use unless you have registered it. Meaning you paid money to some government agency to protect your work. Using this symbol without paying money is illegal. If you register a copyright, you have a certain amount of registered trademarks you can use, like I mentioned above.

In the end, then, you can use the copyright and trademark symbols for free, but they don't really mean anything. The only way you could really get someone in trouble for stealing work is if you have registered a trademark by paying money.

Any thoughts/opinions? Comment, comment, comment!