Intellectual Property

Home / Intellectual Property / Copyright

25

Years Experience

Copyright

Copyright is a legal construct that gives the author or creator, the right to control how their work will be used. It protects authors that nobody will use their work without authorization or permission. Therefore, only the author or specific individuals having the author’s permission can duplicate the original work.

Copyright is a lawful right that refrains others from duplicating or distributing original work without the author’s consent. It implies that if you have a copyright on something then no one can copy that work without your permission.

According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, copyright safeguards two types of rights. The first one is monetary rights that only allows the owner to get a financial reward when others will use their work. The second one is the moral right, which enables authors to do specific activities. The basic purpose of these activities is to keep their connection strong with the work.

Work Protection through Copyright

This includes the following types of work:

  • Literary work that can be books, magazines, lectures, journals, novels, movies, dramas, computer programs or software, etc.
  • Cinematography work, which includes dramas, movies, audio-visual works, documentaries, etc.
  • Record work like audios, recordings, musical work, songs, national anthem, voice, thunder, animal noises, etc.
  • Artistic work can be maps, photographs, charts, drawings, paintings, carvings, clothing designs, textiles architectural works, calligraphies, sculptures, logos, label designs, monograms, etc.
  • Online content like website content, blog writing or articles, etc.

Copyright law only allows authors or creators to use and replicate the data for a specific time. It only enables the authors to use copyrighted data until the public has access to it.

There are multiple reasons that you need to do copyright registration. These reasons are:

  • Public Record of Ownership

When you have done copyright registration then it will establish the public record of copyright ownership. This public record is very important for the proprietor. For example, if an infringer claims to be the author then the proprietor has to prove him wrong. In such cases, a public record of copyright ownership will reveal the author. Thus, it is very helpful especially in cases where ownership is challenged.

  • Presumption of Ownership

When you have completed the copyright registration, the court has all the facts. The registration certificate will indicate the original copyright owner.

It implies that the ownership of copyright is presumed. Anyone who is claiming to be an owner, have to prove it with the facts. If he/she does not have authentic facts to prove it then it will not be considered valuable. Moreover, this presumption is very helpful especially when an infringer is causing serious distress to the owner. The owner will report it in the court and then the court will order an infringer to inhibit these unlawful activities.

 

  • Capability to register a Law Suit for Copyright Infringement

The best thing about registering a copyright is that you can file a lawsuit against copyright infringement. Therefore, you can protect your work from an infringer. Whereas, a copyright owner cannot file a lawsuit against an infringer before the registration of copyrights. The registration process usually completes in seven months, once an application is filed.

Several attorneys are aware of the registration process before they come up with a lawsuit for copyright infringement. Hence, this registration increases the owner’s dignity whenever he/she faces copyright infringement. For example, if an owner has registered copyright then he/she can instantly register a lawsuit against an infringer. Whereas, if the owner has not registered copyright, he/she has to wait for the whole registration process. Hence, there are more chances that an infringer can exploit this owner. Furthermore, registration before infringement has more financial advantages.

  • Eligible for Statutory Damages

There are more chances that the copyright owner is entitled to an award of statutory damages if copyrights are registered before infringement. This is very useful as proving damages in a copyright infringement case can be quite complicated. An award of statutory damages enables the owner to get a specific amount for infringed work. When copyrights are registered before infringement, the owner also becomes eligible for an award of attorney fees and cost of suit. Therefore, the copyright owner should seriously consider registering copyrights especially when their work has a market value. Moreover, registration is preferable if there is more important work regarding business operations or other profit-seeking activities.