Like Copyright – Common Law and comparative legal law
It is widely misunderstood that a copyright must be filed with the Copyright Office in order to secure a copyright. Although acquiring a registration has its advantages, registration with the Copyright Office is not necessary to secure rights. In contrast, at common law, a copyright is automatically created when it is first tangibly fixed. As long as it is an original work of authorship, you can claim ownership and protection and even put a copyright notice, including the “small c with a circle” symbol, on the particular work. Although a notice is no longer required, if one is to be used it is important to follow the convention of using the © symbol followed by the year of first publication of the work followed by the copyright owner and the work
While creating and maintaining common law copyright protection is beneficial, the Copyright Act, a federal statute, provides additional benefits and protective rights to an owner. The most commonly recognized rights are the ability to sue in federal court, the ability to recover statutory damages of up to $150,000.00 for willful infringement, and the ability to recover attorneys’ fees. However, to receive these benefits, the copyright must be registered with the Library of Congress Copyright Office. Although the timing of filing for registration may affect what statutory damages are available, you must receive registration or refuse registration in order to proceed with an infringement suit in federal court. Therefore, for a relatively small price, it is advisable to request the registration of all original works of authorship at or before the publication of the work. In addition, the creation of a public record of the claimed work, the establishment of a facsimile proof of validity, and other benefits make registration well worth the cost. With the ability to use online submission, there is no excuse not to register copyright for any type of work, including literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pantomimes and choreographic works, pictorial works, graphic works and sculptures, films and other audio. -visual works, sound recorders and architectural works.
Ultimately, people need to remember that as soon as an original work of authorship is fixed in tangible form and published, a copyright exists. However, in accordance with the statutory law, and practically speaking, having a copyright registration with the Copyright Office will provide the additional benefits and advantages should the need arise to do- fulfill it
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