Poor Man's Copyright

Definition
A Poor Man's Copyright refers to the practice of mailing a copy of a work you have created to yourself in lieu of paying the cost of obtaining a copyright registration of that work. There is no provision in copyright law regarding any protection that is afforded to such conduct, and it is not a substitute for copyright registration. In the event of a copyright infringement claim, it may not be admissible to prove creation and/or ownership of the work.