COPYRIGHT LAW - PART 2

     6. Cost for registering a copyright is $45 each. The cost alone makes registration prohibitive for most writers.

     7. The only reason you need a copyright registered is if you plan to sue someone for infringement, and in that case it can be registered after the infringement. The difference monetarily is that if the piece is registered after the infringement, you can sue for actual damages; if registered before, you can also sue for attorney’s fees.

8.     If you want to register a copyright, send to the Copyright Office for form TX (for published and unpublished non-dramatic works), or form PA (for published and unpublished works of the performing arts). Write to Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, Washington DC 20559.

9. A copyright affords you the following rights: (1) to reproduce the work in copies; (2) to prepare derivative works based on the original; (3) to distribute to the public copies of the work by sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental, lease or lending; (4) to perform publicly a literary, dramatic or audiovisual work; and (5) to display publicly such a work.