Determine if your manuscript is eligible for copyright. Titles, names, slogans or other short phrases and symbols or designs are not eligible for copyrighting. They are trademarks. Ideas, methods, processes and devices would fall under a patent, not a copyright, which is for manuscripts that describe or explain something such as a book or art that is illustrative.
Determine if you are legally able to claim copyright. Usually a book copyright automatically belongs to the writer at manuscript completion. However, if the manuscript is created from information that is common property without your original authorship such as a booklet of the Declaration of Independence, then you cannot claim a copyright. Another way copyright is not given to the author is if the writer is working on contract in a work-made-for-hire arrangement. The content and copyright belong to the person or corporation hiring the writer. An example of work-made-for-hire would be a teacher employed by a textbook company to write content for an exam. The company would be the owner of the content and copyright because the teacher is compensated with a contract fee.
Go to the U.S. Copyright Office website at http://www.copyright.gov/. Click on the link on the left-hand sidebar that says “Register.” Electronic filing costs less than paper filing. After you click “Register,” you will see “eCo Online System” at the top of the page. Click “Electronic Copyright Office.” A page about security of the registration site will present itself. Click on “Continue to eCo” button. Create a new account by clicking on “If you are a new user, click here to register.” Register with your name, address, telephone number and e-mail.
Go to the site, “Starting The Registration Process.” This will give you information about completing your application, making payment and submitting your work. Click “Start Registration.” Choose “Select Type Of Work." Select “Literary Work.” You will be taken to a screen for the book title. Give the current working title of your book. Click “New” to add the title and “Save.” Choose the title type, which will be “Title of Work being registered” and click “Continue.” For unpublished works, enter the date of the title when finished in the provided box and click “Continue.”
Skip the sites “Adding an Author for the Work," "Naming the Author of the Work,” Describing the Author's Contribution,” “Adding Multiple Authors,” “Adding a Claimant,” “Naming a Claimant,” “Adding Claimants,” and “Identifying Preexisting Material” if you do not have multiple claimants or authors and do not have already copyrighted material in your manuscript. Fill in the address form on the “Rights and Permission Contact.” This form designates who to contact for rights and permission to use the work. The designation can be you or an agent who is working for you. Click “Continue.” Fill in the “Correspondent Contact” information form. This form designates who to contact for questions about the application information. Click “Continue.” Fill in the information for the “Certificate Mailing Address.” This is the mailing address so the copyright office can mail the certificate to you. Click “Continue.” Skip “Special Handling” because it is very expensive unless you need it because of the following reasons: “Pending or prospective litigation,” “Custom matters,” or “Contract or publishing deadlines that require the expedited issuance of a certificate.” The final steps in filling out the electronic form are “Certifying the Application” to register you as the application recipient, “Reviewing the Submission” for errors and paying for the certificate via credit or debit card, electronic check or Copyright Office deposit account.
Click “Register Online” > FormCo” > “Download FormCo.” You need Adobe Reader (Acroread in Linux) or similar PDF reader that allows you to write in forms.
Fill out the form and print.
Send the form in the mail to the U.S. Copyright Office with the check for registration.