Copyright Registration

What copyright is

Copyright protects original creative works: writing, photographs, drawings, music, films, software and similar. It protects the work itself, not the name or sign that identifies a business. That is the job of a trademark, and a logo can be protected by both.

In most countries copyright arises when the work is created, and no registration is needed. Some countries nevertheless keep a register, and registering can be useful there.

Why register where a register exists

A registration puts the facts of your claim on a public record and gives you a certificate. It can also matter in a dispute. In the United States, for example, registration is needed before you can sue over infringement of a US work, and a registered work may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney’s fees. Other countries have different rules, and in some a registration has no special effect.

Source for the US position: US Copyright Office, general questions.

What is included

• Telling you whether the country keeps a register and what registration gives you there
• Advice on who is named as author and as owner
• Preparing and filing the application, and paying the official fee
• Following the application and sending you the certificate when it is issued

How it works

1. Tell us about the workWhat it is, who created it, when it was first published or shown, and the country you care about.
2. We check the registerWe tell you whether the country keeps one and what it offers, before we quote.
3. QuoteOur fee and the official fee are shown separately.
4. We fileAfter you approve the quote and pay, we file the application.
5. CertificateWe send you the certificate or other proof when the office issues it.

A registration records your claim to a work. It does not make you the owner of something you did not create or acquire. If a freelancer, a co-author or an employer may have rights in the work, tell us at the start.