Registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office is one of the best things you can do right now. Copyright Office. It can be a great investment, especially when things go terribly wrong.

This post will examine these benefits and recent changes to legislation/policy that could impact you.

Let’s begin with some harmful myths about copyright registration and harsh realities that you should know.

Myth If I have mailed a copy of the work to myself, I do not need to register.

Reality: Sending yourself a copy is an outdated practice. This does not give you any rights or prove ownership.

Myth – Registration is not necessary to file a suit.

Reality: The Supreme Court mandated in 2019 that you MUST register at the U.S. Copyright Office must be contacted before a lawsuit can be filed. Before you can sue for copyright violation, the Copyright Office has to approve or deny your application. This is true even if it involves a work that was not created in the United States.

Myth: When I register, it doesn’t really matter. I can wait to register until my content is violated.

Reality Registered creators are entitled to $150,000 in statutory damages for willful infringements and attorney fees as long as they began the infringement after the registration date. If you delay registering, you are leaving money on the table.

Myth – You can list all your catalogs on one application.

Reality: Now, there are different types of applications and new rules. You will need to divide your catalog into different applications following these rules. Use our application converter to help you decide how to divide your catalog when registering with Cosynd.

Myth: If I submit the wrong application, I can easily fix it.

Reality: The Copyright Office doesn’t issue refunds. If you submit the wrong application, you will be required to pay a new federal filing fee and wait several months before your application is approved (or again denied).

Here are your basic rights as an owner of a copyright. A copyright is established the moment an original work is created. Your original work, including songs, books, articles, and photographs, is protected from being used by others without your consent. You have exclusive rights as a copyright holder to take the following actions and to authorize others to do so on your behalf.

Reproduce an original work.

Create derivative works (e.g.

Distribute work for sale, rental, or leasing

Publicly perform or display the work

If applicable, include visual images in the work.

You can license others to do anything listed above

You can also receive a variety of benefits as an owner of a copyright if you register with the U.S. Copyright Office

Your original work is now publicly recorded.

A certificate is issued as physical proof of registration.

If necessary, registration gives you the right to sue for infringement. This could be worth anywhere between $750 and $30,000, or even up to $150,000 if it is determined that the infringement was deliberate.

You may be able to recover attorney’s costs from a lawsuit.

If filed within five years of publication, the registration is considered to be factual evidence by a court.

You can register with the U.S. Customs Service to protect yourself against importation or infringing copies.

The timing of your registration is important. On March 19, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that you must register before filing a lawsuit for infringement. Recently, cases were dismissed because they failed to register. If you register after the infringement, then you may be eligible for statutory damages up to $150,000.

In this case, “registration” means that the Copyright Office reviewed your application and decided on it. It can take up to seven months for a decision. For a steep fee of $800, you can speed up your registration, but it is not guaranteed that it will be approved. It may also be moot if your infringement happened before you registered.

Is it possible to mail me proof of ownership of my work? It is common knowledge that you can prove the date of creation of the work by sending yourself a duplicate and storing it in an envelope sealed with a seal. This method is sometimes called the “poor man’s copyright.”

It is important to know that while this practice has historically been popular, it does not fall under the copyright laws. Copyright Office. Copyright holders who rely on the “poor man’s” copyright do not receive the same rights and protections as those registered at the Copyright Office.

It is important to understand the difference, especially when it comes to enforcing your legal rights. The envelope that you have tucked away, containing a copy of your work, is now worthless.

Cosynd is a tool that allows you to register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. It is a quick and affordable method to register your copyrights. Cosynd is the easiest way to register copyrights.

Consider the type of application you are using.

Consider the type of work you do.

Enter the same data repeatedly.

Complete your application by reading the lengthy instructions.

Do not worry about any errors that could delay or deny your application

Bonus: Besides registration, Cosyndis is the only solution that can help you manage all your split sheets and agreements for work-for-hire agreements as well as other copyright ownership contracts with just one account.

Here are some tips if you prefer to register on your own:

Please read the guidelines to find out which application you need. Depending on the type of registration, at the time this article was posted, most registrations cost between $45, $65, and $85 each. The application fee for a paper-based form is $125.

You must select the appropriate category for your work type. It may be necessary to do some research to determine which type of work is best suited to your particular job. Song registrations, for example, can be classified in different ways.

Search for the best way to list several works in a single submission. If the authorship, publication, and creation standards are met, multiple works can be listed on one application.

Please provide as much detail as possible about the authors, claimants, and transfer of ownership (if any).

Prepare yourself — it can take a long time to gather all the information you need.