What Is the Effective Date of My Copyright Registration?

When it comes to very time-sensitive documentation materials, such as copyrights, it is important to know exactly what your timeline is, what your legal rights are and when your rights go into effect. When dealing with copyright registrations, you may find that it is difficult to tell precisely when your copyright on a certain written, audio or visual material begins. Whether you are dealing with litigation problems, publishing or distribution issues or you simply want to know what your rights are, it is important to know how the copyright registration process works. In order to determine when your protection legally goes into effect, here are the things you need to know.

After You Submit Your Copyright Claim

After you file a completed and accurate copyright claim online or by mail, the United States Copyright Office will begin the process of examining your application, supporting documentation and statements. Depending on the completeness and accuracy of your application, the nature of your copyright filing and the time of year, they will deal with your copyright claim over a period of time that may range from days to months.

However, the most important thing to know is that your copyright claim goes into legal effect the moment that it is received by the Copyright Office, provided that it is complete and absolutely accurate. If your filing was found to be missing any information or included any information that was not correct, then the copyright would not go into effect and your application would have to be re-submitted or revised.

Therefore, your effective date of copyright registration is the day that your application is received in full, regardless of what day that it is opened, viewed, processed or acknowledged. One way of finding out what date your application is received is by sending your filing in through Certified Mail and requesting a return receipt. You will receive a response notifying you of when the Copyright Office receives the package.

If your application is found to be incomplete and further information regarding your copyright is necessary, you will be contacted by the appropriate Copyright Office staff. You can expect to receive a Certificate of Registration on your copyright once your application is fully processed.

What Else Do I Need to Know?

The Copyright Office requests all filers to mail the following items in boxes rather than envelopes: cassettes, CDs, DVDs, photographs, colored documents and any items with rubber-based print. After you’ve submitted your file, here are some things to consider as you wait:

•While it is not required that you receive a copyright on your originally authored works through the United States Copyright Office, registering for a formal copyright does give you certain legal advantages when it comes to duplicating, publishing and distributing your own work.

•Once your copyright goes into effect on the day that your package is received, you are then eligible for and entitled to all of the rights and responsibilities that go along with your creative authorship over a work. In other words, you have the rights to display the work publically, sell it to a publication journal or make copies for distribution.

•Your effective copyright will also be useful if you are dealing with a lawsuit or other legal infringement in which another party has used your material without your permission. On the date that your copyright becomes legally binding, they will no longer be able to do this.

Now that you are aware of the details of how and when your copyright registration will go into legal effect, you can send off your application with confidence knowing that as soon as it is received in its proper form, you are under legal protection. Furthermore, this fact may be an incentive to get your application into the United States Copyright Office in a timely fashion so as to expedite your copyright claim.

Legal Disclaimer

The content on our website is only meant to provide general information and is not legal advice. We make our best efforts to make sure the information is accurate, but we cannot guarantee it. Do not rely on the content as legal advice. For assistance with legal problems or for a legal inquiry please contact you attorney.