What is a Copyright
Posted in About Copyrights
Unlike a patent, whose existence begins by a grant from United States Patent and Trademark Office, and a trademark, whose existence begins by its use in commerce, a copyright exists from the moment it is created without registration or use. There are advantages in registering with the Copyright Office, however. For example, before a copyright can be enforced, it must be first registered, and statutory damages and attorney fees may be awarded only for acts of infringement after registration. Only actual damages, which might be insignificant, can be awarded for infringement activity before registration.
The owner of a copyright is generally the person that created a work except when the person was employed, in which case the work must be assigned to the employer, and except for selected works, when the work was created by a consultant working under a written contract that grants ownership to an entity other than the consultant, making it a “work made for hire.” A copyright grants to its owner the exclusive right to copy or reproduce a creative work. A copyright may be granted on works of art whose primary element is not functional, including sculptures, paintings, photographs, designs, recordings, software and writings.
