It is widely misunderstood that one must file a copyright with the Copyright Office to secure a copyright. While acquiring a registration has its advantages, registration with the Copyright Office is not required to secure rights. Instead, under common law, copyright is created automatically when it is first fixed in tangible form. As long as it’s an original work of authorship, you can claim ownership and protection and even place a copyright notice, including the “small c with a circle” symbol, on the particular work. Although a notice is no longer required, if you wish to use it, it is important to follow the convention of using the © symbol followed by the year the work was first published followed by the copyright owner and the work.

While creating and maintaining common law copyright protection is beneficial, the Copyright Act, a federal statute, provides additional benefits and protective rights to an owner. The most commonly recognized rights are the ability to sue in federal court, the ability to recover statutory damages of up to $150,000.00 for willful infringement, and the ability to recover attorneys’ fees. However, to receive these benefits, the copyright must be registered with the Library of Congress Copyright Office. While the timing of the registration application may affect what statutory damages are available, one must be granted registration or denied registration to proceed with an infringement lawsuit in federal court. Therefore, for a relatively small price, it is advisable to apply for registration of all original works of authorship at or before the time of publication of the work. In addition, the creation of a public record of the claimed work, the establishment of prima facia evidence of validity, and other benefits make registration well worth the cost. With the ability to use online submission, there is no excuse not to register a copyright for any type of work, including literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pantomime and choreographic works, pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, movies and other audio. -visual works, sound recorders and architectural works.

Ultimately, people must remember that as soon as an original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible form and published, a copyright exists. However, under statutory law, and in practical terms, having a copyright registration with the Copyright Office will provide additional benefits and advantages should the need for enforcement arise.