I use the following on all my photographs, poems and other pieces of work: ©Villayat Sunkmanitu. Keyboards don't have the copyright tag easily available, so please feel free to copy it from here. Generally speaking there isn't a need to add a date to a piece of work like a photograph, song or poem. I add a date to my website to show how long it has been in operation.

Please do remember to always save the original file for the purposes of photography and only work on the copy. Then ensure that you have a file structure on your hard drive that allows you to save both variations in the same folder.

Eg If I photograph 'kingfishers', I save all of the images that are of a good enough standard to be sold as prints or leased for publications and website usage into a folder called 'Kingfishers'. I then rename the final marketable images as kingfisher 0001 (numbered consecutively) Copyright Villayat Sunkmanitu.

This leaves no doubt as to who owns the image, identifies it properly for the purposes of search engines and gives me a level of protection.

I also 'watermark' all my images - this means that a copyright notice appears on the images themselves.

You should also ensure that the Metadata is updated on your images.

It is a good idea to get into the habit of placing a copyright tag on items that you create eg writing something on the back of your painting or adding a copyright tag as above. Even though these right are automatic, you must ensure that you state that your work or creation is protected.

Eg 'Images are the ©Copyright of Villayat Sunkmanitu. Moral rights asserted in all countries and under any acts that may require such assertion.'

This sort of tag should be used on your web page. Please feel free to copy and adapt it to your name.

If you're writing anything - please feel free to adapt the following paragraph to your name to protect your creation:

All poems and images remain the ©copyright of the author, (your name).  All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

You can do some basic protection on your own PC if you record the file as an MP3 or WMA file. AudioShell is a freeware shell extension for windows 2000 and XP - 32 bit only. Install the program and then find the file on your system, right click on it and select properties and select the 'AudioShell Tag Editor' tab and edit the information about your music creation. You can also add a graphic of yourself or the album. Lastly, tick the 'read only' option for the file under the 'General' tab. You should now be able to view the copyright tag and creator's details in Windows Media Player.

Record your music to a CD and finalise it - put it in a suitable envelope and mark it so that the title of the music/song can be easily identified without opening the envelope - then post it to yourself via Royal Mail - Recorded Delivery. DO NOT open it when it arrives. Take your receipt from the Post Office and staple it to the outside of the envelope and put the package somewhere for safe keeping.