Are you a foreign author? Foreign to the United States, that is. We Americans can be like that sometimes. And unfortunately, our copyright law is the same.
Like almost every copyright law in the world, the U.S. Copyright Act promises that protection arises automatically at the moment a work is created. And in the formal sense, this is true. The moment you are done typing, click the shutter, or make that last brush stroke, the work is considered protected. But there’s a catch.
U.S. copyright law is unique in requiring registration with the U.S. Copyright Office as a condition for key enforcement tools. For American authors, they can’t even file an infringement lawsuit without having first registered. But for all authors, regardless of nationality, both statutory damages and attorney’s fees are conditioned on registration of the infringed work(s). Not only that, but the registration must have been PRIOR to the commencement of the infringement. This is often a point of confusion for some who believe that non-U.S. authors can register upon discovery of an infringement and still be eligible for all remedies. We get it. The statue reads a little fuzzy on this topic. But trust us.
What are statutory damages?
Just what they sound like. Instead of having to prove the actual monetary harm to you from the infringement, you can request the court pick from a range of damages in the statute. For ordinary infringements, that range is $750-$30,000 per infringed work. So, if you are dealing with infringement of multiple works, multiply that range by the number of works infringed. The range goes even higher – up to $150,000 per work – if the infringement was willful. That means the person who used your work without permission has to think long and hard about whether they want to risk going to court. Often willful infringers who see a work is registered will decide it’s a lot easier to settle than litigate.
This is why we at RightsClick urge creators to register before sending your work to anyone. We have worked hard to make it quick and easy for you and if you make it part of your regular routine, you will always maximize your protection. It doesn’t matter where you live – if you sell your work in the U.S. or even if you don’t but it is likely to be infringed here, timely registration can make all the difference.
