IP Tech Knowledgy

Copyright registration is a powerful and inexpensive tool in protecting creative works.  Whether the creation is software, artwork, photographs, music or written work, having a copyright registration when stopping an infringer can increase financial relief and pressure against the infringer.  Only if the work is registered before the infringement occurs does the owner have the opportunity to obtain its attorneys’ fees and receive enhanced damages allowed by the copyright statute.  Without having registered a copyright before the infringement occurs, the owner of the work still can stop the infringement but the expense of attacking an infringer often is daunting.  Registering the copyright allows the copyright owner to seek the financial relief to make an attack worthwhile.  The filing fee is relatively inexpensive for the benefit registration provides.  For a defendant, if the owner does not have a registration, there is a greater strategic ability to contest the claim.