COPYRIGHT
Copyright law protects original works that are in a tangible form. Some examples of works that can be copyrighted are: literary works, musical works, dramatic works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works, sound recordings. For a complete list see: http://www.copyright.gov/
Copyright protection begins when your work is put into a tangible form. Your ideas and thoughts are not copyrightable. For example, your idea for a novel cannot be copyrighted, but your written manuscript has copyright protection when you write it down. It is not necessary to register your work for it to have copyright protection. Copyright protects both published and unpublished works. The owner of the copyright can transfer some of the rights or all of the copyright to another.
The advantages of registering your copyright include:
- 1. Makes a public record of your copyright
- 2. You cannot sue for infringement unless your work is registered
- 3. Establishes the validity of your copyright in court
- 4. Allows you to sue for statutory damages a. If you do not register your work you can only claim actual damages.
- 5. Protects you from the import of copies of you work
Example of Copyright Protection. You have a book you are selling for $20. John Doe copies your book and starts selling it for $15. John Doe makes $200 selling copies of your book. If you have not registered your copyright for your book you cannot sue John. First you would have to register your book, and then sue. In this case you could only sue for actual damages (i.e. $200). It will cost you more than that just to sue John.
If your book was registered you could sue John for statutory damages. Statutory damages range from $200 to $300,000 and are calculated per work. So if John sold 20 copies of your work you would recover at least $4,000. Compare that to the $200 in the example above.
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