Although many types of “creative” and “original” Works are deemed to have copyright protection from the event that the Work is created and “fixed in any tangible place”, in order for the owner within the copyright to receive greater rights and increase their her ability to protect those rights the Work should be registered.
The United States Copyright Office is a division of the United States Department of Commerce. Registering with this office will greatly enhance the copyright owner’s ability to seek various types of damages if the copyright been recently infringed upon by the outside party. One should seek legal advice before getting registering a copyrighted Work, as it should be determined whether the Job is copyrightable, i.e. the kind of Work for which a registration can be consumed. Simply applying to register a copyright does not necessarily mean the work in question is copyrightable.
The duration of copyrights varies from what type of work is in question as well as when it originated or registered. A work that was created on or after January 1, 1978 is protected from the time it is created, usually for your author’s life plus 70 years after the author’s death. For “a joint work prepared by some authors who would not work for hire,” the term is actually for 70 years since the death of last surviving author.
The copyright term for works created and published or registered before January 1, 1978 will be the same as for the people created on or after January 1, 1978, namely, life of the author plus 70 years. The 95/120-year terms for works for hire apply to pre January 1, 1978 to these works also. However, the term of copyright due to these works cannot expire before December 31, 2002. For works published on or before December 31, 2002, the term will not expire before December 31, 2047.
A “work made for hire” is one prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment or perhaps work specially ordered or commissioned for several types of use use such for a contribution to a collective work, an element of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, a translation, a supplementary work, a compilation as well as instructional text in the event the parties agree in making instrument that function will be considered a work made for hire.
The copyright term for works specifically for hire and anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author’s identity is revealed in Copyright Office records) is either 95 years from the date of publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever is shorter.
As with other areas of Brand Copyright Registration in India and Intellectual Property Law, it is preferable to consult with a legal professional that specializes in this area. A number of law schools offer what is in order to as a Masters of Intellectual Property degree and the advice of an attorney with this involving scholarship can be essential from the event a work is reached all the way through the enforcement or recovery of any infringement.
This article is intended for informational purposes only. It should never be construed as legal advice and readers are motivated to consult a qualified attorney regarding these matters.