Copyright Registration
Copyright (or author’s right) is the right that creators have over their literary, artistic and certain scientific works once those have been created and fixed on a tangible medium. As such, these works are perceptible by others through their senses, either directly (e.g. sight, when reading something written) or through the assistance of a machine (e.g. sound, when hearing a recording).
Copyright registration (or author's rights)
Registering one's work is not compulsory to have one's rights as creator recognized. However,
registration is highly recommended for two main reasons:
1. Registration will grant the owner presumption of ownership and will establish the date on which the work was first created. This is incredibly helpful in cases of disputes with a third party over ownership or creation. It is sufficient to register through a competent authority of any country that is a party to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works for this presumption to apply. Therefore, a single registration in one country will grant presumption of ownership and establish a date of creation in all member countries to the Convention.
For a fast copyright registration and recognition process, we recommend registering the copyright in Chile, as the whole process takes no more than 2 weeks.
2. In some countries, a work registered through the local copyright office grants the owner additional rights in case of disputes with a third party due to acts of Copyright Infringement. If a copyright is registered with a national authority, additional statutory damages and attorney fees (among other benefits) may be awarded to the owner of the copyright in case of successful litigation.
We recommend registering a copyright with the copyright registration office of the countries where your copyrighted works will be sold or used.
In the USA, a copyright registered before the USA copyright office before the alleged infringing action is necessary to bring a lawsuit for copyright infringement and seek statutory damage and attorney fees.
The rights derived from copyright (or author's right)
Economic Rights: These rights can be summarized as the right to use, sell or license created works, as well as preventing others from doing so. These rights may be transferred from the original creator to others.
Moral Rights: These rights can be summarized as the right of the creator to be recognized as such directly or through a pseudonym, or to remain anonymous. These rights may vary between common law and civil law countries.
Examples of works that are protected by copyright (or author's right)
Literary Works
- Adaptations
- Anthologies
- Arguments
- Articles
- Books
- Comedy Stands
- E-Books
- Ups
- Manuals
- Guides
- Novels
- Monographs
- Speeches
- Poems
- Translations
- Stories
Artistic Works
- Movies
- Comics
- Paintings
- Photographs
- Choreographies
- Music
- Architectural Plans
- Statues
Scientific Works
- Computer Programs
- Softwares
- Databases
- Projects of Engineering