A Certificate of Registration of Digital File is an official document that functions as a valid evidence that a certain file existed at a particular time and that is in possession of the named Possessor. This certificate constitutes as evidence in the event that a copyright registration is challenged.

Amazon has its own policies when it comes to copyrights. As a seller you may be able to file a complaint against another seller who infringes upon your copyright material or work. In addition, having a copyright registration establishes legal presumption of ownership and validity.

Furthermore, you can stop Amazon sellers from successfully completing a sales transaction by obtaining border protection. Merchandise seeking entry into a country bearing infringing copyright that has been registered will be detained, seized, forfeited, and ultimately destroyed.

Yes, absolutely!

As part of our packages, we conduct due diligence or copyrightability test using applicable legal standards to determine legal risks which we can use to assess registrability and package recommendation.

Please contact us for more information.

No. Copyright registration protects original works while trademark registration protects distinctive marks.

For example, a logo consisting of mere stylization of a wording is not original, thus not copyrightable but it may however be registrable as a trademark.

The best time to register your copyright is as soon as the material or work is completed because copyright an infringer can claim another person’s copyright by obtaining a copyright registration before the real creator or author does.

Original product images that sellers upload in Amazon are copyright materials.

Copyrights confer automatic protection at the moment these materials are created. But enforcing copyrights is a different animal – an aspect which most, if not all, sellers do not pay attention to. As a result, hijackers conveniently copy these materials to pass off as their own without being penalized. As a defense, hijackers can always challenge a seller’s ownership of the copyrights. Therefore, the burden of proof to establish ownership of the copyrights is on the seller’s part. Without registration, the seller claiming copyright infringement is at a disadvantage.

The simple fix is copyright registration. Registering copyrights enforces an owner’s rights to his copyrights. It creates a public record of copyright ownership, therefore turning the table around. With copyright registration giving a legal presumption of ownership and validity of the copyrights, putting the hijackers on defensive to argue that there was no copyright infringement. Therefore, registration makes it easier for sellers to enforce rights in Amazon.

In addition, the following are some cool benefits of a copyright registration:

1. Only copyright owners are eligible for an award of statutory damages.  An award of statutory damages allows recovery for a certain amount for copyrights infringed.
2. Copyrights owners may record their copyright registration with 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 U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or the U.S. Copyright Office (USCOP].

To end, copyright registration enhances and enforces an owner’s rights to his/her copyrights.

Yes, we do. Especially we recommend filing for copyright in China. Contact us for further details about filing copyright applications in other countries.

Ensure that you have registered copyright for your photographs.

Make sure you physically affix your trademark to your products and/or packaging.

Make sure you are Brand Registered.

Consider putting watermark on your images.

Report offending images via drop down menu “copyright” and choose images.

If you own copyright and a trademark, Amazon will remove offending images and issue a listing violation warning once you provide evidence of IP ownership.

You can also send the other seller an invoice for unauthorized use of your image (don’t count on the invoice been paid though).

Go on the offensive! Report them to Amazon for copyright theft. Usually Amazon will not even ask for proof of copyright ownership, as Amazon will automatically side with you to avoid getting drawn into the argument and tell the other seller it’s up to them to sort it out with you and (effectively) prove that they are not infringing.

Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.