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Working with a Logan Utah Copyright Attorney

One of the most fundamental elements of intellectual property law is copyright. Copyright protects published and unpublished “original works of authorship” that are in tangible form. While the term “authorship” brings novels, poetry and plays to mind, it applies to many materials businesses use every day.

Examples of more modern “original works of authorship” include:

  • Photographs
  • Websites and blog posts
  • Product packaging
  • Clothing and soft goods prints and designs
  • Video content
  • Promotional material
  • Advertising
  • Music
  • White papers
  • Instructional materials

As long as the work is in a tangible form, the work itself is protected under US copyright law. What is a tangible form? It’s really anything that you can read, see, hear or consume with any of the five senses. Ownership, copyright litigation, and registration are all critical elements of an intellectual property strategy.

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How Do I Copyright My Work?

As soon as a qualifying work is created in a tangible form, it is initially protected under US copyright law. This means it can’t be used or reproduced in any way without the copyright owner’s permission. The copyright owner can be the original creator or it can be transferred to another entity. You don’t have to register your work to protect it under copyright, but copyright registration confers a number of benefits to creators and is required to formally enforce rights.

copyright registration and Your Intellectual Property Strategy

Registering your creative work could be an important part of the protection strategy. Copyright registration can serve as proof of ownership, allow you to take legal action and even allow you to collect additional damages. The benefits of working with a Logan Utah copyright attorney to register your copyright include:

Establishing a Public Record

To put it simply, registering your work creates a public record of ownership. If you register your copyright within five years of creation, it holds even more value. Your copyright becomes considered prima facie evidence, which means the court assumes you own the copyright without any further proof required.

The Ability to File an Infringement Lawsuit and Effective Enforcement

In order to file a lawsuit to protect your work, that work must be registered. It can take several months to process a copyright registration and in many cases, time is of the essence. Because copyright registration is required to file an infringement lawsuit, it is often needed for effective pre-litigation enforcement. Registering a copyright is a simple way to proactively protect your work.

You Qualify for Attorney Fees and Statutory Damages

If registered within 3 months of creation and publication or before infringement occurs, you may be entitled to attorneys fees and statutory damages if your work is reproduced without your permission.

DMCA takedowns

The digital millennium copyright act (DMCA) allows authors to quickly remove infringing content from websites through the web hosts and service providers that support the infringers’ website. Competing product listings or even entire web pages or websites may be removed within days of a carefully crafted complaint. In order to be successful, DMCA takedowns must:

  1. be properly directed to correctly identified web hosts and service providers;
  2. include required statutory language and information, and 
  3. comply with web host and service provider policies. 

Follow-ups may be required. Prior copyright registration can increase the likelihood of a successful DMCA takedown. Following copyright registration and DMCA takedown, it is often advantageous to conduct follow-up enforcement. An intellectual property or copyright attorney can help you conduct the proper investigations, due diligence, and factual and legal analysis to help you determine whether this makes sense for your business and objectives.

Working with a Logan Utah
Copyright Attorney

Registering a copyright is an important and affordable part of any IP strategy. Project CIP offers transparent pricing for copyright registration.

US copyright registration
$450 / application

When you work with Project CIP, you will have a Logan Utah copyright attorney on your team. Our goal is to be your trusted partner and advise you as to best protect and use your intellectual property, including partners, trademarks, and copyrights. Contact our office today.