What does anyone know about copyrighting your iPhone app? I assume it's necessary, but I don't know for sure. If it's needed, how do you go about doing it?

As far as i understand "Copyright", anything that you create is automatically "copyrighted". I thought it was weird as well but if you do some research you will see that that is the case. You dont actually have to register your idea or creation or anything, it is copyrighted on creation.

Here is a government site that explains copyright in better detail: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/

I personally will still put "Copyright 2012 My company Name" In my apps, just to be safe.

Thank you! That's what I was hoping, but I wasn't quite sure.

No problemo!

I actually have some experience in this area because I ran into issues with my first Corona-made game when it first came out a while back.

But yes, rxmarccall is correct in that everything you create is considered your intellectual property by default, which has some benefits obviously.

There are some things it will not help you with, however. I'll describe two scenarios. The first scenario, having your IP automatically copyrighted (no registration) will help you out. The second scenario, simply creating something won't help you out if you don't have your copyright registered.

Scenario #1: Somebody claims you stole their work and tries to sue you for it (and they don't have the work registered, obviously, because it is yours). You can most-likely prove that you are the original author. In this case, the fact that you don't have your copyright registered is fine—you likely won't have any problems especially since the person challenging you doesn't have it registered either (unless the other party is a huge company with lawyers that can get just about anything they want from a one-man shop).

Scenario #2: Somebody steals your work. If you don't have your copyright registered, from what I understand, it will be difficult to challenge them in court if you don't have the copyright registered. Even if you can prove you are the original creator, that would probably help (especially if it is undeniable proof), but I believe you'd probably still have difficulty.

So, do you need to get your stuff registered? It's probably not urgent. However, when you begin to make more money with your IP then it's probably a good thing to do as a security measure for your business.

As rxmarccall suggested though, it's probably good to put © YourName on things just to ward off at least some of the trolls out there.

First of all, copyright laws vary from country to country, so we have to be careful with advice that may only be true in your country. It helps to say "In the US" or "In France".

In the US, the moment you create something it is copyrighted to you. As a photographer, the moment I push the shutter release, the photo is mine. With software, as you write the code, it's yours.

Now the US Copyright office allows you to register your intellectual property which is like the "iron clad proof" it's yours should it come time to take someone to court. Your damages and fees are better when you are registered vs. when you are not, like who covers court costs, etc.

At a minimum you probably should put:

Copyright © 2012 Your Company Name or your Name. All rights reserved.

in the header of each of your source files. When you submit your app to Apple you have the ability to add copyright information too. You should always fill that out.

BTW: On a Mac, to get the © symbol, you hold down "Option" and press G. If you're on a PC, I think you hold down the ALT key and then type in 0169 on your numeric keypad.