What are the benefits to registering a copyright?

Intellectual Property Comments (0)

Copyright registration serves a number of public purposes. For example, it creates a public record of claims of copyright, documents information regarding a copyrighted work and brings in deposits that the Library of Congress may wish to acquire. There are a number of benefits for registering claims to copyrights in works:

a)      The Copyright Act requires, in most instances, that application for copyright registration be made before an action for copyright infringement of a U.S. work can be commenced. So failure to properly register a copyright claim precludes a court from entertaining an infringement action until a registration is obtained.

b)      Registration prior to an act of infringement is generally a prerequisite for the infringement remedies of statutory damages and for attorney’s fees. An exception is where an application for registration is filed within three month’s after publication. This is known as the “safe harbor” for published works.

c)      If a copyright is registered either before publication or within five years after initial publication, the certificate of registration constitutes prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and of the facts stated in the certificate.

d)      Registration is also a prerequisite to obtaining the constructive notice benefits that flow from recording transfers of copyright interests.

About:  Dr. Rayan F. Coutinho is an Intellectual Property and Technology Law attorney at the law firm of Wood & Lamping LLP and can be reached at 513-852-6030 or by email at rfcoutinho@woodlamping.com.

admin @ August 19, 2009