Advantages of Registering Your Copyright
While copyright law explicitly states that “registration is not a condition of copyright protection” (17 USC §408(a)) and that a copyright is created simply when an “original work of authorship” is “fixed in any tangible medium of expression” (17 USC §102(a))‚ there are benefits to registering a copyright which cannot be obtained otherwise. If you have an original work of authorship and wish to register the copyright‚ you should get in touch with an experienced copyright attorney right away.
Protections Granted with a Copyright Registration
Below is a list of some of the primary benefits that copyright registration provides:
- If your copyright is registered‚ you will be able to sue any party that infringes upon your rights (17 USC §411(a)).
- Your copyright must be registered immediately in order to qualify for the benefit of statutory damages and attorney’s fees (17 USC §412). Note that you can register a copyright for an unpublished work.
- A registered copyright creates prima facie evidence of your rights in court. In other words‚ the court will consider all the details in your certificate of registration as true‚ and consequently any party that claims that your copyright is invalid will bear the burden to prove the invalidity.
- Parties that infringe upon your copyright will have a harder time claiming innocent infringement since registration acts as public notice of your ownership to the copyright.
- Registration makes transfers easier and generally tends to increase the value of the work and your business.
Although a copyright may be registered anytime within its lifetime (life of the author plus 70 years)‚ you should register your copyright as soon as possible in order to receive all of the protections listed above.
How Do I Register a Copyright?
We first gather all of the required information from you and then we submit the application to the copyright office. Upon submission‚ you should receive a copyright certificate within six months to a year. Provided that copyright protection is granted‚ your registration is effective the day the Copyright Office receives your application.
Register Your Copyright Today
At Mandour & Associates‚ APC‚ our knowledgeable copyright lawyers have years of experience protecting copyrights. We rigorously keep up with new developments in copyright law‚ and this knowledge allows us to protect the interests of our clients. If you have any inquiries regarding copyrights‚ please feel free to contact us or fill out our contact form.
