how do i copyright a cartoon?

[kyle]

i want to copyright my cartoon idea for a children's tv show, and i want to send the idea out to people via twitter,email,post etc. im worried if i send it out someone might steal the idea! if i have the idea on titter or on a blog will i be okay?

[Robert]

The moment you put it on paper it's yours. If you post the idea and someone steals it, the the evidence you have to sue them is on the post. You claimed the idea before they did, so it's yours

[Alistair]

You can get a patent on your drawing which would mean no one could copy it.

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/patent/p-man...nforce.htm

[Tony]

look for a copyright solicitor in your area and they will put the copyright though if anyone objects to it then there will be no copyright issued example copied from another show, cartoon, copyrighted music etc

i would make it a worldwide patten so you have protection but this is gonna cost you a lot of money

[Sally A]

Robert is correct, the others aren't
The law is the CDPA 1988
The minute you create it, it's yours
you can't stop people stealing stuff (many people put watermarks across designs to help prevent this), but you can sue them if they do

[cooingspot229]

If you're in the UK, then the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 certainly applies, but in the US, it's the Berne Convention Implementation Act 1989. In either case, copyright is automatic, but emailing a copy of the cartoon to your Yahoo account is the best and cheapest form of Poor Man's Copyright I know of and certainly can't hurt.
@ Alistair and Tony: Patents are for inventions, not the expressions of ideas. Go back to law school, dipwads!

[skyrich62]

Some of the other people are correct. Copyright is automatic, as long as you can establish and prove that the *expression* of your idea, (note, not the idea itself), is yours and yours alone.

It's best to add a notice to your work which specifically states that you are claiming your rights per copyright law, like this:

Copyright © Skyrich62, 2013, all rights reserved.

This notifies the public that you are *not* putting the work into the public domain, but are reserving all rights to yourself. Strictly speaking, this is not necessary, but it does help your case if you ever pursue a copyright infringement suit.