Any attorney will tell creative professionals to register their work the U.S. Copyright Office because without timely registration, taking enforcement action against an infringement is either hindered or impossible. Some creators register on their own, and others have attorneys do it for them. But the truth is that it’s better (and cheaper!) to do it yourself, which is one reason we streamlined the registration process in RightsClick.
In November 2021, in a case involving potential invalidation of a copyright registration (Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauriz), the Supreme Court made a decision that was very helpful to creators—deciding that honest mistakes on a registration application are not a reason to invalidate the registration. And who’s more likely to make an honest mistake? You or a copyright attorney? Because of this decision, many copyright attorneys would rather creators take care of registration themselves.
In fact, counsel for Unicolors in that case, Scott Alan Burroughs says, “I tell my clients to register early and often, and it is in many cases preferable, for a number of reasons, if they do it themselves. In fact, I’ve referred clients to RightsClick to make the process more efficient.”
Of course, RightsClick software is designed to prevent common mistakes like mixing published works with unpublished works or selecting the wrong application form or the wrong administrative class. Plus, a registration application with RightsClick takes just minutes; it becomes part of your organized creative portfolio; and it’s a lot cheaper than having an attorney file the application for you.
Learn more here or write us with your questions below. We’d love to hear how we can help you start protecting your work today.