This just came into my head...

Who do you contact in the US and Canada to copyright or trademark something?

well... you can copywrite something without any legal stuff. It's a patent you must apply for. You can simply say something and place a copywrite on it.

Good luck copyrighting anything under one year in the US. I use a copyright program. Fill in the blanks and shoot it off. http://www.officialsoftware.com/portal/products.asp

If you're counting on "word of honor" in that no one else will claim something you claimed before... there is no such thing as "honor" this days.

You're better off filing a copyright under the law, or as MSNwar pointed out, by using a "filing" service to help you out in the process. That way you're protected.