Suppose that you have expressed your idea into a tangible form such as producing a video. Although your copyright exists upon the moment of creation, should you register your copyright on the video with the U.S. Copyright Office? Suppose you don’t and later you find out that a competitor has posted a copy of your video on their website. Should you register your copyright? The answer is YES!

Let’s suppose you have created a video such as how to design a particular product. The video has value because it draws interested persons to your website. However, you did not register your copyright in the video with the U.S. Copyright Office before posting it on your website. Now, six months has passed and a competitor has obtained a copy of your video and has posted it on its website to draw traffic from your website to their website. What can you do to prevent this situation from continuing?

First, you need to register your copyright on the video with the U.S. Copyright Office before you can sue for infringement. Under 17 U.S.C. § 411, no civil action for infringement of a copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until preregistration or registration of the copyright claim has been made.

Second, you need to register your copyright before the infringement occurs or within 3 months of publication of the work. The copyright laws allow an owner of a copyright that is infringed to sue for an injunction to stop any further infringement or recover damages for infringement. Under 17 U.S.C. § 502, any court having jurisdiction may grant temporary and final injunctions on such terms as it may deem reasonable to prevent or restrain infringement of a copyright. Under 17 U.S.C. § 504, an infringer of a copyright is liable for either (1) the copyright owner’s actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer or (2) statutory damages.

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