Registering Your Works

With The Copyright Office

PRESENTED BY COSYND  

R E G I S T E R C O P Y R I G H T S ; C R E A T E A G R E E M E N T S

W W W . C O S Y N D . C O M
 What is a copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of published and

unpublished “original works of authorship” such as literary, dramatic, musical,
visual, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. Examples include films,
sound recordings, lyrics, choreography, photographs, illustrations, designs, and
more. 
Rights of a
Copyright Owner:
Copyright owners have the exclusive right to
perform the actions below and to authorize others
to act on their behalf to:

Reproduce a work.

Create derivative works (e.g. a film

adaptation of a book). 

Distribute the work for sale, rental,

lease or lending.

Perform/display the work publicly.

Protecting Your
Works:
Here are few steps that you can take to protect
your works:

Have legal agreements in place with

anyone that will contribute to, use,

license, buy, or represent your works.

Provide a notice of copyright within your

works (e.g. "Copyright 2017 © You, Inc.")

Register your works with the U.S.

Copyright Office.
 ...but, what about "poor
man's copyright?"
Copyright exists the moment a work is created.  "Poor man's copyright"
is the act of mailing yourself a copy of your work to document when it
was created.

There is no provision in copyright law regarding "poor man's copyright"

and it is not a substitute for registering your works with the U.S.
Copyright Office. You will not be granted the same protections and
rights if you only rely on "poor man's copyright."
Benefits of Registering with the U.S. Copyright Office:
There are a number of benefits to registering your works with the U.S. Copyright
Office:

  
- You receive a certificate as physical proof of your registration.

- There is a public record of your ownership.

- Registration gives you the option to file an infringement suit, if necessary.

- You may be eligible to collect statutory damages and attorney's fees from litigation.

- Registration is considered factual evidence in a court of law if filed within 5 years of

publication.

- You can record the registration with the U.S. Customs Service for protection against the
importation of infringing copies of your work. 

Poor Man's Copyright:

- Offers none of the above.
Registration Pays Off, in Big
Ways:
Registering your works entitles you to collect damages at the

basic statutory level (between $750 and $30,000 per work) at

the court's discretion. Damages may increase to $150,000 per

work if the infringement was determined to be deliberate.

Additionally, you may also be awarded attorney's fees as well.

Copyright owners that have not registered their works can only

collect actual damages. Even if you win your suit, you could owe

more in legal fees than the sum you collected.

 Registration Tips
Read the Copyright Office's guidelines carefully to determine which
application you should use. At the time of the creation of this
document, registration costs $35 or $55 per application. 

Select the correct category of work type for your registration. You may
need to research which work type is most applicable to your work. For
example, song registrations can fall under different categories.

Multiple works can be submitted on a single application if the

authorship for each work is the same and belongs to a collection. 

Provide as much detailed information as possible for authors,

claimants, and transfers of ownership (if applicable).

Be prepared - this can be a time consuming process if you do not

have all of the required information prepared before you begin.
 Using Cosynd
to Register
Your Works
You can use Cosynd to register your works with the U.S. Copyright Office. In most
cases, existing Cosynd users can complete their application in minutes. Cosynd will: 

Automatically determine which application to file on your behalf.

Instantly determine the correct work type category for your

registrations.

Transfer existing work, authorship, and claimant information to your

application (existing Cosynd users only).

File the actual application on your behalf.

You can also use Cosynd to create free ownership agreements with your collaborators.
 Learn More:
www.cosynd.com

W W W . S O U N D G E A R . C O M
R E G I S T E R C O P Y R I G H T S ; C R E A T E A G R E E M E N T S

W W W . C O S Y N D . C O M

Copyright 2017 Cosynd Incorporated. Cosynd provides information and self-help software at your direction only. Cosynd is not a "lawyer referral service," a law firm, or a
substitute for an attorney. Cosynd does not provide legal advice, opinions, or recommendations about possible legal rights or participate in any legal representation.