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Why Should I Register A Copyright?

Copyright Protection:

What is a Copyright?

A copyright is the protection created under the United States Copyright Act which protects “an original work of authorship.” Copyrights protect music, photographs, video, films, works of art, software, buildings, and architectural drawings when they are put into a fixed form that can be copied and distributed.

What are the Advantages to Registering a Copyright?

A Copyright exists when the work is created by the author. It is created when it is in a form that can be copied and distributed to others. This “common law” copyright protects the author’s creation against unauthorized copying. However, the US Copyright Act preempts the enforcement of common law copyrights. Therefore, in order to sue to enforce the author’s copyright in his or her work, the copyright must be registered with the US Copyright Office. The following are advantages of registering your copyright:

You can immediately sue to enforce your copyright in your work;
You may be entitled to attorney fees;
The presumption that the registered owner’s copyright in the work is valid;
You can record your registration with US Customs and Boarder Protection to stop infringing products from entering the US.

Who is the Owner of the Copyright in a Work?

Generally, the author is the owner of copyright. If there are multiple authors, they may share the copyright and there may be several layers of copyrights in a work. For example, if one individual writes the text to a book and another does the illustrations, the author of the text owns that copyright in the text and the illustrator owns the copyright in the illustrations.

Ownership of a copyright right will reside in one who is not the author only:

if the copyright has been assigned,
if the work is a “work made for hire,” or
the copyright is transferred by law, such as by will, descent, or bankruptcy.

A “work made for hire” is defined as:

a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or
a work specially ordered or commissioned in a signed writing for use as:

contribution to a collective work
a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work
a translation
a supplementary work
a compilation
an instructional text
a test
answer material for a test
an atlas

Courts have ruled that this definition is narrow. Even if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument that the work shall be considered a work made for hire, it may be determined by the court that the work is not one of the defined “works made for hire” as described in the statute. Therefore, care must be taken to make sure all rights are assigned to the correct party in writing.

Protection of copyrights based on several levels of the same work can be complicated. When multiple individuals are involved in the creation of the work, various levels of ownership need to be discussed and reviewed carefully. It is important to have an experienced copyright attorney involved throughout the process of creating the work to highlight any issues early in the process. This can save you headaches and money in the long run.

Our intellectual property lawyers take the time to assess, discuss, and guide you through copyright ownership, licensing copyrights, copyright royalties, confidentiality agreements, and, when necessary, copyright litigation. An original work of authorship often represents years of hard work. Securing that work with copyright protection is essential to protect your rights.