Copyright registration with the U.S. Copyright Office perfects and documents your right of authorship in a book, play, screenplay, film, song, computer program, game, etc. Advantages of copyright registration include an official public record of your registration and the availability of statutory damages and attorneys' fees pursuant to the Copyright Act in case of copyright infringement.
Fees for copyright registration and related copyright law advice start at $300 for one registration, exclusive of the government filing filing fee, generally $45, and include all needed advice and consultation. A group of works registered together will often result in savings. While filings are effective as of the filing date of the application, it usually takes approximately 4-5 months to receive confirmation of registration. (2009 update: 6+ months).
Those who are intending to, or who already have, created an original work with one or more co-authors or partners should consider a collaboration, partnership, or other formal agreement or business entity structure to formalize their relationship, provide for continuity in the case of the incapacity or death of a co-writer/partner, and to account for the possibility of eventual disagreements concering the copyrighted material.
Copyright legal advice and work regarding copyright assignments (sales and transfers), fair use, copyright infringement, and optioning or purchasing books and other literary works or life rights are also available.
Copyright services typically run $275-300 per hour, unless a flat fee applies. Initial consultation via email or telephone is always without charge or obligation.
Writers: Note that Writers Guild of America (WGA) registration is not a substitute for a copyright protection, but it does provide additional evidence of date of authorship.
