Copyright Registration Protection and Enforcement
Copyright Registration
Copyright Registration is a powerful form of intellectual property protection offered in the United States that allows owners to protect the expression of ideas. This protection is often overlooked by business owners, but it is an incredibly affordable way to protect large portions of your business from being copied by competitors.
What is a Copyright?
Copyright is a form of intellectual property that protects the exclusive right to print, publish, perform, film or otherwise copy a protected work.
What does a Copyright Protect and How Long Does it Last?
A copyright protects the expression of an idea in a tangible form. This can include anything from a screen play to a piece of music to a drawing or even compiled text. Anything creative you can put in a tangible form can be protected by copyright. For businesses, this means your logos, your t-shirt designs, even the free PDF you give to your email subscribers.
When registered, copyright protection for a known individual lasts the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For copyright owners under an anonymous name or that are businesses, a copyright will last 95 years from the first publication of 120 years from the date of its creation.
How Much Does Copyright Registration Cost?
Compared to other forms of intellectual property, Copyright Registration is relatively cheap. Each work costs only $65 to file for a copyright registration. You can also file for registrations of multiple works if they meet certain criteria. For example, if you have a compilation of several pieces of the same type, such as a group of photographs or a group of drawings, you may be able to register them all under the same work for a discounted fee.
In fact, a new law passed in 2020 allows users to register multiple short form online literary works into a single copyright. This is ideal for those of us who post blurbs on social media on a consistent basis. By registering your posts in a compilation work periodically, you can be sure that your social media posts are fully protected at a fraction of the price and effort as it would normally take.
In terms of time, the copyright application process is also much less intense and much shorter. Oftentimes, the entire process from filing to registration can take as little as just a couple months. The low cost and time investment makes this an ideal, yet overlooked, choice for business to protect many aspects of their business.
Is a Copyright Application What I Need?
Each of our clients is different. People and companies are at different stages and have different costs associated with their product or business. Point is, there is no single answer for everyone. What you and your company need is unique and based on a number of factors. We highly recommend you speak with an attorney to discuss the next steps for your company and whether a copyright registration may be what you need. We proudly offer a free consultation to our clients to help them determine what steps to take. If you are interested in setting up a free consultation with us, please contact us at 718-657-7400.
Can I Apply for a Copyright Myself?
While a copyright application can be completed and be successful without an attorney, the process can be difficult and time consuming. We always recommend speaking with an attorney prior to applying for a trademark or any form of intellectual property protection or governmental application. We encourage you to use our free consultation service prior to making the decision to apply for a copyright yourself.
So I have a Copyright Registration, now what?
Congratulations! Now we can turn the shield into a sword and use the copyright protection to stop people from using your works! We can use the copyright registration as a way to force other users to cease and desist the use of your work and, if necessary, file suit against them. With a copyright registration, in additional to actual damages you can be awarded statutory damages up to $150,000 per infringment and attorneys fees if you win a copyight infringment case. For additional information please Contact Us.