If you are in the business of creative works such as literary work, musical & dramatic works, movies, architecture, designing etc then you may need to copyright your work some time or the other.

Usually books, dramas, photographs, compositions, broadcasts, software, designs etc can be copyrighted.

A copyright protects your creative and genuine works from unauthorized usage. In this article I will explain more about copyrights and the copy rights registration process.

When a work gets a copy right symbol it means that the work is original and tangible with the owner getting the intellectual property rights towards the work. All works which have been given a Copyright symbol and status are governed by the US Copyright Act.

But copyrights are not indefinite rights; they generally have an expiration date. Though there is nothing to fear from the owner’s point of view as the copyright expires only after 70 years from the death of the owner or creator of the work on whose name the copyright has been given.

This rule is applicable for all creative works which get copyright status after January 1st 1978 only. Copyrighting your work provides you with lot of advantages, such as – the creator of the work can rest assured that no one else will have false claim of ownership on his/her work as copyright is a publicly accepted claim of the work by its creator.

No one can also benefit from the work monetarily without the creator’s knowledge and acceptance. If the original creator of a work gets it registered within three months of publishing the work, then for any court case related to the work the creator can claim statutory damages and even the fees of the attorney.

To register a copyright for a work the application form should be submitted to the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress in Washington DC. The registration work includes submitting a duly filled in application form, the filing fee and the copy of the work which is planned to be registered for copyright.

Both the fee (Approximately 30 dollars) and the copy are non refundable. There are different application forms for different kinds of creative works. For example for registering works related to literature and software programs you have to use Form TX, for periodicals one has to use Form SE, for performing arts and visual arts, one has to use Form PA and VA respectively.