Copyright RegistrationS

Certain types of art, such as photographs, illustrations, musical works, prose, motion pictures, and various forms of visual art acquire copyright protection from the moment of creation.  Nevertheless, there is an immense benefit to filing copyright registrations for these works as there are many legal rights that don’t attach to the works until they are officially registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.  For instance, the author of a work of art only gains the right to sue for copyright infringement in federal court upon registration of that work. 

Moreover, in instances where a copyright holder took the initiative to register their work within three (3) months after first publishing it or prior to the infringement at issue taking place, the law provides that the copyright holder can pursue the recovery of attorneys’ fees and statutory damages in a copyright infringement lawsuit.  Because there are certain cases where the pursuit of statutory damages is more advantageous than the pursuit of actual damages, it is  ideal for a work of art to be timely registered. 

Another important benefit of registering your works with the U.S. Copyright Office is that it provides notice to the world that you are the sole copyright holder to the work and thus, no one else has the right to use, display, reproduce, perform, or create derivative versions of it without your explicit consent.  As you can see, there are MANY benefits to registering your creative works with the U.S. Copyright Office in a timely manner.  If you are in need of guidance on the copyright registration process, reach out to our office.

To schedule an initial consultation with Attorney Bruno, email abruno@abrunolaw.com or click here.