The advantages of registering a copyright include the following:
- Establishes a public record of the copyright holder's ownership.
- Enables copyright holders to sue infringers in federal court.
- If made before or within 5 years of publication, establishes sufficient evidence in court concerning the validity of the copyright and the facts stated in the copyright certificate.
- If registration is made within 3 months of publication of the work or at any time prior to an infringement of the work, the copyright owner is entitled to seek statutory damages and attorney's fees in federal court. Without registration, only an award of actual damages and profits will be available, and these can be quite difficult to prove.
- Allows the copyright owner to record the registration with U.S. Customs to protect against the importation of infringing copies into the US.
LegalZoom can help you register your copyright without any hassles. Simply answer a few questions online and send in a copy of your work. LegalZoom will take care of the rest. The U.S. Copyright Office generally issues a certificate of copyright within 12 months of submission.
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