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 $500 for one registration, inclusive of the government filing fee, and include all reasonably related advice and consultation. Multiple copyright registrations filed simultaneously, or a group of works registered together when appropriate, may result in fee savings. While filings are effective as of the filing date of the application, it usually takes at least four and as long as nine months to a year receive confirmation of registration. For unpublished works, additional registration may be required following publication.
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 concerning 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 $425 per hour, unless a flat fee applies. A brief 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.
