Copyright Registration and Protection

A copyright is protectable at the moment of its creation without the need for registration or other formalities.

The Berne Convention, an international treaty, provides that copyright in one country is given the same protection in each of the other contracting countries, without the need of registration or formalities. Countries such as the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, China and 174 other counties are country-members to the Berne Convention.

 If copyright is automatically protected, why obtain registration?

First, copyright protectability must be distinguished from enforceability. The former simply establishes rights of an owner to the copyright while the latter refers to exercise of rights. After all, one may have a right but may simply sit on it. Similarly, one cannot enforce a right which he does not have.

Therefore, obtaining a copyright registration helps in ownership disputes, facilitates financial transactions, sales, and the assignment and/or transfer of rights.

In the United States, a copyright registration is required before one can pursue a legal action against copyright infringers.

Copyright registration also provides legal presumption of validity and ownership of a given copyright material or work.  Most online platforms, including Amazon and major social media such Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook have copyright policies in place to assist rights owners in enforcing their copyrights. In other words, a copyright registration is an official document which one can readily submit as evidence to show or prove ownership and support copyright claims.

Conversely, if one does not have a copyright registration, he   or she may be put in a situation where it is difficult to prove ownership of the copyright.

It is important to understand that in enforcing a copyright against an infringer, the one who makes a claim has the burden of proof to establish his ownership and rights to a copyright material or work. As such, infringers of a non-registered copyright can use this weak link as a defense and may also claim ownership of a contested copyright material or work.

In fact, an infringer can obtain registration of someone’s copyright work. Unlike, trademark registration, Copyright Offices do not check whether or not an application is similar to an earlier filed or registered copyright.

Since copyright registration constitutes a legal presumption of validity, an infringer can claim another person’s copyright by obtaining a copyright registration before the real creator or author does. This stresses the point that one must immediately obtain copyright registration as soon as a material or work is created,

Another way that a creator or author secures his rights on the copyright material or work is obtaining tamper-proof evidence in a form of a token or digital certification which can prove that a work existed at a specific point in time. This is practical to those whose copyright materials or works are readily available on the internet.

Amazon sellers who have copyright registration, can utilize border protection apart from the platform’s internal intellectual rights policies.

While Amazon has internal policies and regulations concerning intellectual property rights, these may not be sufficient measures to combat copyright and trademark infringement.

Having a copyright or trademark registration,  one can partner with the government agencies such as the U.S. Custom and Border Protection which has the authority to detain, seize, forfeit, and ultimately destroy merchandise seeking entry into the United States if it bears an infringing trademark or copyright that has been registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or the United States Copyright Office (USCOP). Other countries have similar border protection.