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Copyrights: Do We Need to Copyright Our Works?
© 1996 Victoria Carver
As you know, a person
acquires federal copyright protection in an original work from the moment of
creation. Registration with the United States Copyright Office is not required.
However, there are important
advantages for the owner of a federal copyright registration. First of all,
copyright registration is a prerequisite to the filing of a copyright
infringement action. Second, in litigation, copyright registration is prima
facie evidence of copyright validity. Third, statutory damages and attorney's
fees are available only if the copyright was registered before the infringement
commenced (or within three months after first publication of the work).
Statutory damages, in lieu of actual damages can be awarded by the district
court in the amount of $500 to $20,000. If the court finds that the infringement
was intentional, it has the discretion to award statutory damages up to a total
of $100,000. There are other advantages as well. Although registration of copyright is
voluntary, once the work is published, the deposit requirement is mandatory!
Pursuant to Section 407 of the Copyright Act (Title 17, United States Code) upon
publication, which is defined in the copyright law as 'the distribution of
copies...of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by
rental, lease, or lending,' the owner of copyright must deposit the required
number of copies in the Copyright Office within three (3) months of the date of
publication. The deposit requirement for a published non-dramatic literary work
is satisfied by the submission of two (2) complete copies of the best edition of
the published work. The deposit should be sent to: The Register of Copyrights,
Attn: 407 Deposits, Library of Congress, Washington D.C. 20559-6000. To satisfy the required deposit and to
register your copyright at the same time, send in one package to the Register of
Copyrights: (1) mandatory deposit copies, (2) a completed application for
registration, and (3) a $20 nonrefundable filing fee payable to the Register of
Copyrights. Victoria A.
Carver is an attorney who specializes in Intellectual Property Matters . She is
with the law firm of Carver and Haase, 1215 De La Vina Street, Suite K, Santa
Barbara, CA 93101. Her phone number is (805) 882-9120.
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