Should You Register
Your Copyright?
Generally you must register your work with the Copyright Office in order to have the benefits of the copyright statute and its statutory remedies. Some courts allow an action to be brought after an application has been filed; whereas others require the registration to be issued. However, there are other reasons to register your copyright. A copyright registration
creates a public record of the copyright in the work, permits the
copyright holder to mark the work with a copyright notice, and will help the
owner establish willful infringement in a copyright infringement matter.
Moreover, if registration is made within five years from the date that the work
was published, the certificate of registration constitutes prima facie evidence
in any judicial proceeding of the facts stated in the certificate and of the
validity of the copyright. And if a registration is
made within three months after first publication of the work or prior to an
infringement of the work, then the copyright holder can be awarded statutory
damages and attorneys’ fees in an infringement action.. Statutory damages can range
anywhere from $200 to $150,000 per work infringed. Finally, a copyright holder who has registered
the work can also avail themselves of the takedown provisions ofr the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).