Why register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office?
	How do you register a copyright?
	How are copyrights enforced? Is going to court necessary?

From the Nolo.com Trademarks & Copyrights Center

How to get maximum protection from the federal copyright laws.

Although every work published after 1989 is automatically protected by copyright, you can strengthen your rights by registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. This registration makes it possible to bring a lawsuit to protect your copyright if someone violates (infringes) it. The registration process is straightforward and inexpensive, and can be done without a lawyer.

Why should I register my work with the U.S. Copyright Office?

You must register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office before you are legally permitted to bring a lawsuit to enforce it.

You can register a copyright at any time, but filing promptly may pay off in the long run. "Timely registration"--that is, registration within three months of the work's publication date or before any copyright infringement actually begins--makes it much easier to sue and recover money from an infringer. Specifically, timely registration creates a legal presumption that your copyright is valid, and allows you to recover up to $100,000 (and possibly lawyer's fees) without having to prove any actual monetary harm.

How do I register a copyright?

You can register your copyright by filing a simple form and depositing one or two samples of the work (depending on what it is) with the U.S. Copyright Office. There are different forms for different types of works--for example, form TX is for literary works while form VA is for a visual art work. Forms and instructions may be obtained from the U.S. Copyright Office by telephone, (202) 707-9100, or online at http://www.loc.gov/copyright. Registration currently costs $30 per work. If you're registering several works that are part of one series, you may be able to save money by registering the works together (called "group registration").

How are copyrights enforced? Is going to court necessary?

If someone violates the rights of a copyright owner, the owner is entitled to file a lawsuit in federal court asking the court to:

• issue orders (restraining orders and injunctions) to prevent further violations
• award money damages if appropriate, and
• in some circumstances, award attorney fees.

Whether the lawsuit will be effective and whether damages will be awarded depends on whether the alleged infringer can raise one or more legal defenses to the charge. Common legal defenses to copyright infringement are:

• too much time has elapsed between the infringing act and the lawsuit (the statute of limitations defense)
• the infringement is allowed under the fair use doctrine (discussed above)
• the infringement was innocent (the infringer had no reason to know the work was protected by copyright)
• the infringing work was independently created (that is, it wasn't copied from the original), or
• the copyright owner authorized the use in a license.

If someone has good reason to believe that a use is fair--but later finds herself on the wrong end of a court order--she is likely to be considered an innocent infringer at worst. Innocent infringers usually don't have to pay any damages to the copyright owner, but do have to cease the infringing activity or pay the owner for the reasonable commercial value of that use.

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