Copyright Pre-Registration

 

By Jeremy D. Eveland, MBA, JD

 

September 18, 2006

          

Copyright law, as of the date of this writing, is based on the 1978 Copyright Act which is in 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq.  Additional copyright law has been enacted in 1998 and also in 2005.  See P. L. 109-9.  Recently, rules were proposed for “pre-registering” works that are at risk of infringement even before their public release.  Additionally, new penalties have been imposed for infringement that occurs before authorized commercial distribution.

 

Pre-registration is effective as long as the copyright owner completes the registration within three months after publication, or one month of discovering the infringement.  Pre-registration is basically a “place-holder” for limited purposes.  I think it is safe to say that it should only be used when a copyright owner needs to sue for infringement while a work is still being prepared for commercial release. The best example I can think of is if you had created music and someone stole it and is distributing it on the internet or something similar to that.

 

Perhaps the most important thing to realize about pre-registering your copyright is that it you must still register your copyright once it is prepared for commercial release.  Additionally, pre-registration is not for everyone and everything; rather, I believe it is only appropriate under certain circumstances.

 

By now you are asking the question: How does one pre-register a copyright?

 

There are three conditions that must be met:

 

First, the work must be unpublished.  Second, the work must be in the process of being prepared for commercial distribution in either physical or digital format.  Third, the work must fall within the following classes of works determined by the Register of Copyrights to have had a history of infringement prior to authorized commercial distribution.

 

According to the Register, the works determined to be eligible under this requirement are: motion pictures, sound recordings, musical compositions, literary works being prepared for publication in book form, computer programs, and advertising or marketing photographs.

 

If your material qualifies, then you must apply over the internet.  At this time, the United States Copyright office is not accepting any applications submitted in any other manner. Once you complete the pre-registration process, your material will be considered “pre-registered.”  For more information about pre-registration or copyrighting your creative works, you can visit www.EvelandLawFirm.com or contact our office directly at (801) 747-0821 or Toll-Free 1-800-564-2707 and ask to speak with Jeremy Eveland about your copyright questions and concerns.  Thanks for reading.