Nearly everyone is aware that copyrights exist, but many people fail to take advantage of the protection copyrights can afford when they should. Copyrights are valuable tools in that they allow individuals to protect intellectual property.
Should you be concerned about copyrighting your work? If you are an author, artist, film-maker, musician, or any other type of professional that is creating materials for public production or publication, you should consider taking advantage of copyright laws to protect your work. Sound recordings, audio-visual works, dramatic works and even architectural works can all be protected through copyright registration.
Unless you fill out and submit the proper copyright forms to register your materials as copyrighted, you risk having them appropriated and used by others at will. If you do not register a copyright, it is perfectly legal for someone else to copyright your materials. You may lose out on monetary compensation, but you also risk having your work altered or used in ways you never intended and deeply regret.
There are different copyright forms for literary works, visual art and other works. In order to protect your materials, you must obtain the correct copyright form for the type of work you create. You then submit the form along with samples of your work and the appropriate fee to the U.S. Copyright Office.
Registering a copyright is an easy, efficient way to protect your works. Today this is easier than ever since you can obtain the forms you need to register a copyright online. If you need to transfer or assign copyrights or prepare a notice of copyright infringement, these forms are also available through quality legal forms sources.