US Copyright Registration

What are copyrights? Copyrights are rights that grant exclusivity over the use of works of various types including: films, photographs, written works such as books, poetry, plays, scripts, musical works, paintings, computer software and applications, architectural plans and more. Unlike patent registration, copyright does not protect an idea, but only the expression of the idea in a specific tangible work, so the idea itself is not protected under copyright registration, and it is allowed to use it for other works.

It is important to understand that the existence of the copyrights is self-evident and is not conditioned on the registration of these rights in any database, since they arise, naturally, from the work itself. At the same time, a number of countries in the world, including: the USA, Russia, China, France, India and Japan, do allow the registration of copyrights, since the registration makes it possible to enforce these rights more easily, since the registration constitutes evidentiary proof in the event of a dispute and/or a legal claim Regarding copyright infringement, or regarding the date of existence of the right and the limits of its content.

Copyright in Israel

Since in Israel the protection given to original works is automatic, there is no need to register copyrights and there is no possibility to do so. At the same time, in order to make it easier to prove the identity of the creator and the date of creation in legal proceedings that may be conducted in the future, works can be submitted for deposit with a lawyer who confirms receipt of the work, on the date it was made, and stores it in a secure manner, in a safe in his office.

What are the benefits of registering a copyright in the US?

The best way to get legal protection against copyright infringement is to register the copyright with the US Copyright Office.

Registering copyrights in the US makes it possible to enforce copyrights, and in the case of copyright infringement – to claim compensation from the infringer, without the need to prove damage. If copyright registration is carried out within five years of the creation of the work, the registration of the work will be considered as proof that the author of the work is its owner.

How is copyright registration done in the US?

The copyright registration procedure in the US is carried out by depositing the work in the Library of Congress in the database managed by the US Copyright Office, and drafting a request to register the rights to it.
After depositing the work, the copyright office examines the requested work from a technical point of view and issues a registration certificate to the depositor. The work does not have to be a new work. The registration process usually takes about 9 months, and in some cases you can request to speed up the process’s schedules.

How should the registration of the work be drafted?

The decision on how to register the work and the content of the registration is very complex, since in order to prove copyright infringement, the court must decide whether a “substantial part” of the work has been copied or used, and for this purpose it is based on the manner in which the work was registered and the degree of protection requested for it. For this reason, before registering the rights, it is highly recommended to consult with an intellectual property lawyer with extensive expertise and experience in registering copyrights, their enforcement and infringement, who knows how to anticipate the risks of infringement of rights, and accordingly – how to draft the registration request for you in a way that will provide you with maximum protection.

In an era of intensive sharing in social networks and advanced digital and electronic technologies that allow the reproduction of works very easily, copyrights have greater economic value than ever, and their preservation is becoming more important. The Mark Friedman office specializes in registering copyrights in the USA and our clients include high-tech and start-up companies, creators, artists and other private and commercial clients.

The team of our office has great expertise in patent law and in particular in patent litigation. As a leading firm of lawyers and patent attorneys in the field of intellectual property, we have accumulated rich and diverse experience of over 30 years in the field of patents and in representing over 8,000 clients in patent infringement claims, both as plaintiffs and as defendants, in requests for injunctions, infringement compensation claims, defense in infringement claims, providing opinions In disputes over the rights to use patents and mediation and arbitration procedures concerning infringement of patent rights.

As a leading intellectual property law firm with over 30 years of experience representing over 8,000 clients, our firm’s team is deeply knowledgeable in copyright law in Israel and around the world, we have gained great expertise in copyright registration and enforcement, and we provide the entire package of legal advice, accompaniment and representation, including: registration and transfer Copyrights, providing legal opinions regarding copyrights and legal litigation (litigation) on copyrights.

*The aforementioned in this article and on the website in general should not be considered as legal advice and the things written in it should not be considered as a substitute for individual legal advice, but a personal opinion and/or a general explanation only. Of course, you should not rely on and/or act in accordance with the above without individual legal advice from an attorney

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