Film Rights to First & Second Age

[Sauron the White]

WCH
Again I invoke the name of Denzel Washington and ask you to explain this to me like I am a four year old.

You keep coming back again and again to this

Again, Sauron, the copyright in the broader 'Silmarillion' came into existence as that work was written, not in 1977. Its eventual date of publication makes *no difference whatsoever.*

And it seems to be the cornerstone of much of your reasoning.

I do understand that the term COPYRIGHT originally simply mean that, you as the author, had the right to copy comething ..... ergo - the right to copy/copyright.
And that is certainly one meaning of the term.

I read the information in the link provided by Nerwen which said this in part:

When is my work protected?

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form so that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

As a layman without benefit of Law school, but one who taught high school Government for 33 years, it has been my belief that there is a difference in that meaning of the word COPYRIGHT and the registered or legal copyright which is provable and enforcable in court and comes with certain legal rights and benefits that go far beyond simply the ability to write and copy something.

Before we go an further I would appreciate it if you could clarify that for me so we can both be reading from the same page.