A couple of 'points'.

You can 'prove' a design date by sending yourself a copy in a self addressed envelope and keeping it sealed. The postmark can then 'prove' the date for you. If nothing else, this protects YOU if someone else claims your design. This a legal 'rebuttable presumption'. It's 'presumed' true unless there is credible evidence to refute it.

Obviously there is no governing body for the registration of fly patterns. You can apply for and receive a patent from the government if you are willing to persue it. There is a price, in both time and money, to doing this.

Copyrights are easier, but more limited in scope. For the differences, you'll need to speak with a patent attorney, they vary based on the item involved.

Some common misconceptions about copyrights and patents:

First, they only 'exist' as a legal barrier (that's what they are legally, a 'barrier' to someone else's activities) if YOU, as patent/copyright holder 'protect' them. This means that no government agency will bring action against an infringement, you have to do this in civil court yourself. If you don't do this, then the patent is classed as unprotected and in fact becomes void. There are some federal criminal laws about patent/copyright infringement, but they apply mostly to large industries that have lobbied for special status.

Second, patents/copyrights only protect against others 'profiting' from them. Personal use, like a kid drawing a picture of Mickey Mouse, or me tying a fly for my personal use that is identical to yours is absolutely legal as long as I don't 'sell' them. You can't keep folks from making and fishing with them, just keep them from producing and SELLING them.

This is what makes fly patterns hard to protect. A fly tier sees one, and comes up with a recipe to duplicate it. It works for him, so he keeps using it, and gives some to his friends. After it gets passed around a good bit, someone shows it off to the local fly shop, and maybe the same guy or someone else offers to tie them for the shop. They end up in the bins, and folks begin buying them.

You find out about it, and send a cease and desist letter. The fly shop owner complies. BUT, the fly shop down the road (or in the next town, state, or region) goes through the same process, and you are faced with having to send out all these letters to protect your patent. If you stop doing this, and enough of the flies are sold without response from you, it becomes unprotected and you face an uphill battle if they show up in a big catalog or online retail store.

All that being the case, I do wish you well.

Inovation deserves to be rewared. I hope it works out for you.

Good Luck!

Buddy

P.s, can we get a look at these flies????