Securing Copyright Protection for Your Creative Work

Types of intellectual property protection

Intellectual property (IP) refers to almost any kind of original creation—a novel, a logo, a song, an invention, a recipe, or a new process for developing film. There are four main types of intellectual property law, which serve different purposes and offer varying levels of protection.

While copyright protection is often the most relevant for creative works, other forms of intellectual property protection may be more suitable depending on your needs. Understanding all available legal protections can help you choose the most appropriate strategy.

Copyright protection for creative works

Copyright protection covers tangible artistic, musical, literary, and digital works. For a work to qualify for copyright protection under federal law, it must meet two basic requirements: originality and fixation.

Originality means the work must be independently created by the author and possess a degree of creativity. Fixation requires that the work be captured in a tangible form that can be perceived, reproduced, or communicated. Under copyright law, the work doesn't need to be published or shared publicly to receive protection.

Examples of copyrightable works include the following:

• Written content like stories, blog posts, and articles
• Visual works such as paintings, photographs, and graphic designs
• Audiovisual content, including videos and presentations
• Musical compositions and sound recordings
• Software code and mobile applications
• Architectural plans and designs
• Social media posts that contain sufficient creativity

Copyright protection happens automatically: The moment you write down your story, record your song, create your digital art, or code your software, you have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, display, perform, and create derivative works based on that creation. The duration of a copyright can vary, but normally it exists for the author's life plus 70 years.

Trademark protection for brand elements

Trademark law applies to words, business names, symbols, logos, or other identifiers used to distinguish the goods or services of one manufacturer from those of another. Common examples include company names, product names, logos, slogans, and even distinctive packaging or color schemes.

While you gain some trademark rights simply by using a mark in commerce, registering your trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provides stronger protection and nationwide rights. With registration, the public is on notice that you own the mark. The law presumes it is yours, and you gain the exclusive right to use the registered mark on the goods or services identified in the application.

Unlike copyrights, trademark protection can last indefinitely as long as the mark continues to be used in commerce and proper renewal filings are maintained. The process for registering a trademark is more complex than a copyright, and approval can take months or even years, so it's wise to make sure your application is professionally prepared.

Patent protection for inventions

Under patent law, any person who "invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent." This can include chemical compounds, software algorithms, and even certain plants. The invention must be novel, non-obvious, and useful.

There are three main types of patents: utility patents (covering functional inventions), design patents (covering ornamental designs), and plant patents (covering certain new plant varieties). Patent infringement protection generally lasts for 20 years from the filing date for utility patents and 15 years for design patents.

Unlike copyrights, there is no such thing as an automatic patent. Filing a patent is a formal process through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The patent application process can be slow and costly, taking two years or longer and costing thousands of dollars.

Provisional patent applications

For inventors who need time to develop their ideas or secure funding, there is an alternative way to register their intellectual property rights: a Provisional Patent Application. This application has few requirements, making it faster and easier to file, while providing a priority filing date and a "patent pending" status for 12 months.

During this time, you can more freely discuss your invention, test its potential, and seek funding while deciding whether to commit more time and money toward a nonprovisional patent application. And if you sell products or services covered by the patent application, you can label them as “patent pending.”  

By filing a provisional patent application, you also preserve the right to patent your invention should anyone else try filing an application for an identical or similar invention. This may deter a competitor from imitating your invention. However, you must file a nonprovisional application within 12 months, or you will lose the benefit of the provisional filing date.

Trade secret protection

If your idea doesn't qualify for a patent, you can still seek protection if it's a secret and provides a competitive advantage. Trade secrets law protects confidential business information that has economic value and is subject to reasonable efforts to maintain secrecy. Famous examples include the Coca-Cola formula, Google's search algorithm, and proprietary manufacturing processes.

Unlike other forms of intellectual property, trade secrets don't require registration and can potentially last forever if properly maintained. However, trade secret protection is lost if the information becomes publicly known or if the owner fails to take reasonable steps to keep it secret.

The copyright registration process

Most original ideas and creations fall under copyright law. Copyright is also the easiest form of intellectual property protection to file. In the U.S., there is no requirement to register your creation. However, filing your registration within five years of creating your work will help you in the event that you need to bring a copyright infringement lawsuit in court. Registered works may be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees in successful litigation.

The copyright registration process differs according to the type of material produced, but generally looks like this:

1. Determine whether you’d like to file online or by mail. If you file by mail, you’ll need to determine the appropriate application form based on your work type—literary works use Form TX, visual arts use Form VA, performing arts use Form PA, and sound recordings use Form SR. If you file electronically, you'll need to set up an account on the U.S. Copyright Office website.
2. Prepare your application materials. If filing by mail, you'll need a completed application form with accurate information about the work, author, and copyright claimant. If filing electronically, you'll need to complete the online application with this information instead.
3. Provide a copy or copies of the work being registered—the deposit requirement varies by work type but generally requires one complete copy for unpublished works and two complete copies for published works.
4. Submit your application. Submitting electronically through the U.S. Copyright Office's online system is faster and less expensive than paper filing.
5. Pay the required filing fee, which as of 2025 ranges from $45 for single-author electronic applications to $125 for paper applications.
6. Keep detailed records of your registration, including the application receipt, correspondence with the Copyright Office, and your certificate of registration.

Enforcing your intellectual property protection

When you discover unauthorized use of your intellectual property, swift and appropriate action is crucial to protect your rights and minimize potential damages. The enforcement process typically begins with documentation and escalates through various legal remedies depending on the severity of the infringement and the infringer's response to your initial contact.

Document the infringement

Start by documenting the infringement thoroughly. Take screenshots or save copies of the infringing use, note the date and location of the infringement, and gather any evidence showing the scope of the unauthorized use. This documentation will be essential whether you pursue informal resolution or formal legal action.

Send a cease and desist letter

Contact the infringer directly with a cease and desist letter that clearly identifies your work, describes the infringing use, and demands that they stop using your work. Many infringement cases are resolved at this stage, particularly when the infringement was unintentional or the infringer is willing to negotiate a licensing agreement.

Follow DMCA

For online infringement, utilize the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown process. Submit a DMCA takedown notice to the website or platform hosting the infringing content. Most major platforms have streamlined processes for handling DMCA notices and will remove infringing content promptly upon receiving a valid notice.

Consider legal action

If informal resolution fails, consider formal legal action: Intellectual property owners may be able to recover statutory damages and attorney's fees through civil litigation. Consult with an attorney experienced in intellectual property law to evaluate the strength of your case and the potential for recovery.

Tools and strategies for monitoring intellectual property rights

Protecting your intellectual property rights requires ongoing vigilance and systematic monitoring of how your work is being used. Effective monitoring strategies help you identify infringement early, when it's easier and less expensive to address. Early detection also helps minimize the damage to your brand and the economic harm from unauthorized use of your work.

Manual monitoring

Manual monitoring remains an important component of intellectual property protection. Regular searches using distinctive phrases from your written work, reverse image searches for visual content, and monitoring of key platforms where your content is likely to appear can help identify unauthorized use.

Set up Google Alerts for unique phrases from your written work, your name as an author, and titles of your published works. Use Google's reverse image search feature to find unauthorized use of your photographs, artwork, or other visual content. And check industry-specific platforms and websites where your type of content is commonly shared or sold.

Automated tools and services

Automated monitoring tools can scan the internet continuously for unauthorized use of your material, providing much more comprehensive coverage than manual monitoring alone. These tools use various technologies, including image recognition, text matching, and web crawling, to identify potential infringement across millions of websites and platforms.

Copyright protection FAQs

What is not protected by copyright law?

Copyright law does not cover ideas, concepts, and facts—only the specific expression of those ideas. Copyright law also doesn’t include short phrases, slogans, and titles (though these may qualify for trademark protection), works that lack sufficient creativity or originality, works created by the U.S. government, and works in the public domain.

How long does copyright protection last?

Copyright protection typically lasts for the author's lifetime plus 70 years. For works created by corporations or as "works made for hire," copyright protection lasts for 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter.

For works created before 1978, different rules may apply based on when the work was created and whether it was properly renewed. Works published before 1928 are generally in the public domain in the United States.

Do I need to register my work for copyright protection?

No, copyright protection is automatic when you create an original work and fix it in a tangible form. However, registration provides significant legal advantages, including the ability to file federal lawsuits for infringement, eligibility for statutory damages and attorney's fees, and prima facie evidence of copyright validity and ownership.

What should I do if my copyright is infringed?

If you discover copyright infringement, start by documenting the unauthorized use with screenshots, URLs, and dates. Contact the infringer directly with a cease and desist letter requesting that they stop using your work. For online infringement, submit a DMCA takedown notice to the hosting platform. If informal resolution fails, consider consulting with an intellectual property attorney about formal legal action.

Can ideas be copyrighted?

No, ideas cannot be copyrighted. Copyright law protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves. For example, you cannot copyright the idea of writing a mystery novel, but you can copyright your specific mystery novel with its unique plot, characters, and dialogue.

This distinction is fundamental to copyright law and ensures that basic concepts and ideas remain available for everyone to use and build upon, while protecting the specific creative expression of those ideas.

Copyright protection and more from LegalZoom

Navigating intellectual property law can be complex, especially for entrepreneurs and small business owners who need to focus on growing their businesses. LegalZoom provides comprehensive support for intellectual property rights, from initial registration through ongoing monitoring and enforcement, helping creators and businesses safeguard their valuable creative assets.

Ready to protect your creative work? We can help with trademarks, copyrights, patents, and more. Learn more about our intellectual property services and how we can help support your creative endeavors.

Michelle Kaminsky, Esq., contributed to this article.