Copyright: If You’re Going to Register, Register Right Away
Several months ago (Copyright Registration: Whether, When and Why), I wrote about the benefits of registering a copyright. A recent case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Dongxiao Yue, et al., v. Chordiant Software, Inc., et al.) shows that if you are going to register a copyright, you should register it right away.
Plaintiffs accused defendants of copyright infringement with respect to two pieces of software that were covered by registered copyrights. The defendants moved for a summary judgment that plaintiffs were not entitled to statutory damages and attorney fees because the alleged infringement began before the plaintiffs registered their copyrights.
Copyright Protection in One Easy Lesson
From time to time, clients ask me questions about copyright protection. For example: Should I put a notice on my work? What must the notice say? What about “all rights reserved”? Should I register my copyright? If so, when? Here is a brief overview of copyright formalities. This post discusses why they are not required in the U.S., but when, where and how they might help you.
Copyright Protection Basics in the U.S.
Copyright protects works of authorship and subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The owner has the exclusive right (as applicable) to reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, and make derivative works of the copyrighted work.
