Know All About Copyright

Copyright is an intellectual property that safeguards an author’s original work and gives authors exclusive rights to copy and distribute their creative work for a specific time. How do you copyright something is something that every author worries about?
Copyright is an authorization right and protects your original work. Original Creative work can be:

-    Artistic
-    Literary
-    Music
-    Video
-    Education

The main goal of copyright is to reward the author. When work is recognized, copyright will be protected. Copyright intends to safeguard the origin and original expression of an idea in the creative work form, however not the idea itself.

Notice of the work protection and copyright registration is not required for copyright protection. Once the copyright owner gets the protection, they can use the symbol © to display their registration. When the author registers the copyright, the work is always protected till the author’s time and additionally 70 years.

Copyright registration has a few benefits. They are:

-    Copyright registration sets a public record. It informs the world that your work is recognized and protected.

-    It enables the owner to file a lawsuit in the case when someone else infringes the copyright.

-    It offers economic benefits where the owner can use work in many ways like creating copies, public performance, etc. Also, you can get a reward for it.

-    It can be used as a tool to get legal ownership evidence.

-    It permits you to update the work.

The following people can go in for copyright registration:

-    Author of the work – Either the person who created it or the employer if the work is associated with the employer.

-    Owner of exclusive rights – It includes the right to reproduce copies of the original work and to distribute them.

-    Copyright claimant – This denotes the author or organization that has got ownership rights from the author.

-    Authorized agent – This refers to a person who is authorized to act in place of the author, copyright claimant, or owner.
The process to obtain copyright registration involves the following steps:

1)    Filing an application – The first step for obtaining copyright registration is to file an application. The author, owner of the exclusive right for work, or the copyright claimant, files an application. They can file an application either going to the copyright office, through the post, or e-filing. There should be a separate application for each work. Along with the application, a fee should also be given.

2)    Examination – The next step is examination. Once the copyright is filed, there are 30 days of waiting time. During this time, the copyright examiner checks the application. Also, objections are checked and they are reviewed.

a.    If there are no objections, the examiner reviews it

b.    If there are any objections raised by someone, registrars hear them and resolve them.

3)    Registration – The final step is registration when the registrar requests more documents. Once the registrar is convinced of the applicant’s copyright, the registrar enters details and provides a certificate.