Copyright Registration

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 screenplay 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 or 120 years from the date of 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. If you have a compilation of several pieces of the same type — a group of photographs or a group of drawings, for example — you may be able to register them all under the same work for a discounted fee.

A 2020 law also allows users to register multiple short-form online literary works into a single copyright. This is ideal for those of us who post on social media on a consistent basis. The entire process from filing to registration can take as little as a couple of months — making copyright an ideal, yet overlooked, choice to protect many aspects of your business.

Copyright protection for Amazon listings

Amazon sellers and brands often create original content that can potentially qualify for copyright protection. Depending on the work, this may include original product photography, product listing images and graphics, infographics and comparison charts, original written product descriptions and listing copy, and creative materials such as instruction manuals, guides, and packaging artwork.

Not every Amazon listing — and not every element within a listing — is automatically copyrightable. Copyright protects original expression, not the underlying product, idea, or facts, so whether a particular asset qualifies depends on the creativity and originality involved. We help e-commerce clients identify which of their listing assets are likely eligible and build a registration strategy around them.

Registration can matter a great deal to Amazon sellers. Competitors and unauthorized sellers frequently copy original photographs, graphics, written content, and other creative assets directly from a listing. Registering eligible works with the U.S. Copyright Office strengthens a brand's overall intellectual property protection and can provide important legal benefits — such as access to statutory damages and attorneys' fees — if infringement occurs.

• Read: Copyright Your Amazon Product Listing

From registration to enforcement

Copyright registration is one part of a broader enforcement strategy. If another Amazon seller copies your protected creative material, the appropriate response will depend on the circumstances — what was copied, who owns it, whether and when it was registered, and how the infringer is using it.

Depending on the situation, enforcement may include Amazon's own marketplace reporting procedures, direct copyright infringement claims such as cease and desist demands or DMCA takedowns, or litigation in federal court. Sellers should also be aware that brands sometimes bring mass copyright and trademark actions — including Schedule A lawsuits — against large groups of online sellers at once.

• Amazon IP complaint removal & enforcement
• Infringement defense services
• Schedule A lawsuit defense

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. 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 speaking with an attorney to discuss the next steps for your company and whether a copyright registration may be what you need.

I have a copyright registration — now what?

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 addition to actual damages you can be awarded statutory damages up to $150,000 per infringement and attorneys' fees if you win a copyright infringement case.