Register your copyright or you cannot sue for infringement in the US

[Mouse]

I wonder what happens if person A registers a piece of work that isn't actually theirs? I mean, if the thief is the one to register the work without the knowledge of person B, who's work it actually is. That could be even more complicated and even more costly to sort out.

EDIT: What I said about the wall is a metaphor. Its the same the world over - when the rich want to get richer they always squeeze the poor.

[Voolf]

I wonder what happens if person A registers a piece of work that isn't actually theirs? I mean, if the thief is the one to register the work without the knowledge of person B, who's work it actually is. That could be even more complicated and even more costly to sort out.

EDIT: What I said about the wall is a metaphor. Its the same the world over - when the rich want to get richer they always squeeze the poor.

That is why the registering proccess is not that easy. There is probably a lot of hassle. Submiting proofs, etc. Regarding artwork, you may submint some sketches, ideas, digital files with date stamps... They validate if it is really yours during the registration, so that later in the court there is no doubt in juries mind when they see "registered work".
A thief can hardly presend anything beside the actual artwork, so it may be difficult to register.

[Mouse]

Too much hassle.

I was about to start a Patreon page, but since it would only take one American to trash any attempt I make at becoming a pro artist that's been irreversibly struck off my list of things to do.

[Voolf]

I do not understand what you mean by that. Why American would prevent you to become a pro in anything. Also what is the relation to Patreon here. You can still do that and don't worry about registering your work in USA.

[Mouse]

I can't afford either the time or the money to register what is already mine to make it possible to sue anyone at any time in the future. So if someone sees my work on Patreon and decides to snatch it and redistribute it free or resell it I can't do anything about it at all - other than mess around for years and years sending desist orders and feeling really angry all the time. Its not something I want to spend my life doing.

That is not to say that I won't ever give things away free again now that I have a suitable PC. And my work will also be available from time to time through Profantasy or any other publisher who decides to buy it from me. Its just that I can't see the point in doing a Patreon page, when doing so would mean I would have no time left over to do anything else at all. It would be like placing all my eggs in one extremely vulnerable basket - unprotected by the perceived power of a publishing company.

I am not a greedy person. Its just that art is the only thing I'm good at, so I need to make it pay for me or give it up and take a cleaning job instead.

[Voolf]

Posting on Patreon dosen't change anything in your current situation right now, which is anybody anytime from America (and any other country) can steal your intelectual property and use it as their own. Your first line of defence is desist letters and later pursuing the case in court adhering UK laws.

The registration proccess is for US citizens wihin the US.

The only thing that Patreon affects is you tax report from Patreon earnings. Depending on UK-USA treaties, you either have to pay tax in UK and USA or only UK after submitting required documents.

PS.

From World Intelectual Property Organization:

In the majority of countries, and according to the Berne Convention, copyright protection is obtained automatically without the need for registration or other formalities.

Most countries nonetheless have a system in place to allow for the voluntary registration of works. Such voluntary registration systems can help solve disputes over ownership or creation, as well as facilitate financial transactions, sales, and the assignment and/or transfer of rights.

and again from the legal document Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.Com.

In 1988, Congress removed foreign works from §411(a)’s dominion in order to comply with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works

Registering the work does not give you your copyrights, you already have them. It is just to make disputes being solved faster.

[Mouse]

Theft is much more likely if the potential thief is fully aware that there is just no way a person can afford to register their art, never mind sue them. Most of what protects a person's intellectual property is already down to thieves not knowing whether you have the power to sue or not - a simple but effective deterrent. Now that the US has blown that doubt away by making it really obvious that most people couldn't afford to register every last texture and symbol available at their selling point(s) (which in my case would number in the thousands if I were to go ahead and do the Patreon page), the number of thieves will multiply. I can only hope that for people like yourself who already have a Patreon page this multiplication will stay in the single figures, and that you won't have to spend 10 times as much of your energy chasing thieves around instead of doing your art.

Tax is a separate issue. I was going to sort that out once I set up the levels on my Patreon UK page. The name of it alone suggests that I would only be paying UK tax. But that's kind of a moot point if I'm not going to do it any more.

[Voolf]

Theft is much more likely if the potential thief is fully aware that there is just no way a person can afford to register their art, never mind sue them. Most of what protects a person's intellectual property is already down to thieves not knowing whether you have the power to sue or not - a simple but effective deterrent. Now that the US has blown that doubt away by making it really obvious that most people couldn't afford to register every last texture and symbol available at their selling point(s) (which in my case would number in the thousands if I were to go ahead and do the Patreon page), the number of thieves will multiply. I can only hope that for people like yourself who already have a Patreon page this multiplication will stay in the single figures, and that you won't have to spend 10 times as much of your energy chasing thieves around instead of doing your art.

Tax is a separate issue. I was going to sort that out once I set up the levels on my Patreon UK page. The name of it alone suggests that I would only be paying UK tax. But that's kind of a moot point if I'm not going to do it any more.

Of course you will do as you deem best for yourself. I just don't understand how making specificly a Patreon page would be so bad. It is just another social platform like any other except people pay you for your work. It is even better because access to your Patreon page have only your patrons, whilst here and any other forum, blog, group is avaiable for everyone. The multiplication of thieves is higher here than on Patreoin because much more people have access to this forum.

[Mouse]

Well... this is as far as it got:

Me at Patreon.jpg

There aren't any posts yet because I was very busy trying to accumulate a large enough store of artwork to keep it going for a few months while I make more art.

But that's as far as it will go now.

You may have noticed how I haven't been showing a lot of stuff in the last year or so. Mostly that's been down to a broken laptop - courtesy of Win 10 Creator's Update and the processor security upgrades, but I've grown a lot and changed in that time. I've started selling my work to publishers like Profantasy, and until just yesterday I was seriously considering going full time pro. Today, though, I am reconsidering that plan. This is because I've had my work stolen before, so you might say I'm extra sensitised about theft. I expect it to happen because its already happened, and because I am expecting it to happen I need to feel able to protect my work - even if I don't have enough money to ever sue anyone for the loss of my livelihood.

In the past a thief could never be certain about my defencelessness, but now that they know it would cost me literally £million to register all my artwork just to protect it from thieves based in the USA, theft is even more likely to happen, and may even happen to such an extent that I would be a fool to invest any more time in trying to make a Patreon page (or any other selling platform for that matter) work for me.

There's nothing special about Patreon that I mention it here. It just happens to be the first step I was about to take in the direction of becoming a pro artist. If it had been a personal webpage I was in the process of setting up for myself I would have mentioned that instead.

[Voolf]

It's a bit silly to think "I won't sell and post my work in fear of being stolen". You then don't post anything and nobody will know about your great maps, etc. don't you think ?

Again, you are UK citizen, first and foremost, please make sure you know your country laws concerning copyrights.
Second, remember that USA registration proccess is domestic and does not include foreign works.
Third, I would consider those registrations for bigger companies that want extra protection in future for the works that bring a lot of revenue. I really doubt anyone from this forum will be registering every map they ever done.
Finally if by any chance one of your work is selling excellent and you making a lot or revenue from it, then somebody steals it, you can register later and then pursue case in court if that will be necessary.
I think you are overreacting to this whole thing.... mind i do say this in a friendly manner

Anyways, I think we have hijacked this thread. Maybe someone else can add some real knowledge here, instead of us exchanging thoughts

I myself encourage you to make that Paetron page and sell you stuff there. You deserve money for the art you do.