I have a part of a book I'm writing and I wanted to send it out to someone to get their input, but I'm afraid of the legal implications of what they could do with it. So I remembered my buddy told me if I mailed myself a letter with the document in it, it counts as a copyright. Is this true? Does it apply for this context? Thank you so much, Bless us all

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I'm not sure about the letter thing but you could buy an ad in a news paper. Put it there and then send it to whoever you want to see it. If they claim it's theirs you can always go back and have proof it's yours. Also you may want to ask a publisher or someone at a newspaper how you go about that. That is ofcourse WHAT THEY DOOOO

Legally, your work is protected by copyright from the moment you create it. You need registration if there is an infringement issue. This FAQ from the Copyright Office addresses what your friend told you: *I’ve heard about a “poor man’s copyright.” What is it? The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.* In other words, sending this to yourself gives you no more protection than if you don't send it. If you don't trust the person you're sending it to, don't send it. Or, register it for copyright. For more info, go to www.copyright.gov

NO...that's a fallacy. You could go to Lulu.com and print it from there [the price is cheap] and put a copyright notice on the front page...THAT will give you more of a legal leg to stand on.

Point goes to Bookish. There is no case law in the US, at any court level, in which the so-called "poor man's copyright" (mailing or otherwise shipping your manuscript to yourself, without without witnesses, signed receipts, tracking, etc.) has been recognized as proof of anything.