Copyright protects creative and artistic works and therefore to reproduce the authors work you require permission. Copyright does not only cover written work but also covers drama, music, art, layouts, recordings and broadcast works. The copywriting legislation protects the work during the lifetime of the author plus seventy years. If there are two or more authors of a work then the copyright lasts for 70 years from the death of the last remaining author.

The availability of any work in the public domain where it is freely accessible to the outside world cannot be copyrighted as it is accessible to anyone. Thus it is freely copy able and distributed by anyone. If a work is protected by a copyright, it is denoted with a small c in a circle or the words copyright is written below it.

The practice of requiring a notice to be published advising people of the copyright is not required by the law as amended on March 1 1989 at the Berne convention. United States along with other countries agreed to follow its guidelines. However works written prior to the date required a written notice or they were considered in the public domain. If a notice is still used after that date it is beneficial to the author as it identifies his or her name, the date of writing and publication, and helps in any judicial matters pertaining to the work.

Copyright Law protects the intellectual property of individuals or a group of individuals, from unscrupulous people who would try and benefit from the hard work and knowledge of others.

So what are the benefits of registering works for copyright: -

• Copywriting your work lets you make a public disclosure of the claim of copyright. Thus innocent infringement is no longer a defense.

• No infringement suits can be filed unless a registration is done prior. Therefore if you wish to bring a claim of infringe, you have no course of action.

• If you register your work within 5 years, then it affords you protection by providing prima facie evidence that the copyright is valid and that the certificate is factually correct.

• If the author gets his or her work registered in the 3 months after the publication of their material or before there is any infringement, then the owner of the copyright will be able to claim statutory damages and attorney’s fees.

• When a product is registered, the owner can also file the information with the US Customs. They can in turn prevent the importation of goods that were not complying with US guidelines. The copyright registration prevents that.

The author or other authorized people can register a copyright these days at any time during its life. Previously it had to be done at the time of publishing. You may at your desire register a different version of the same material at any time.

A number of problems are avoided when you register for copyright.  It also prevents them from saying they did it innocently.

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