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Continued from Copyright Page
A copyright protects the original expression of an idea, whether literary, artistic, commercial or otherwise as long as it is recorded on a tangible medium. A copyright is primarily a tool for use in developing your business. A copyright protects literary works, musical works, dramatic works, choreographic works, graphic works, audiovisual works, sound recordings and architectural works. The author of the work immediately has exclusive rights in the work after the work is fixed in a tangible form. The Copyright Act grants copyright owners exclusive rights in five categories: reproduction, adaptation, public distribution, public performance, and public display.
A copyright notice is no longer required to be place on a distributed copy to enjoy federal copyright protection. However, it is strongly recommended that it be used on all works to give the world notice of your claim to copyright protection.
Registering a copyright has many benefits. Registration of a copyright is required before bringing an infringement lawsuit. In addition, if the copyright is registered within three months of the work's first publication, the owner may be entitled to statutory damages and attorneys fees in an infringement suit which are not available to unregistered copyrights. Also, federal registration can serve as primary evidence of the validity of the copyright.
Our firm has obtained federal copyright registration for various manufacturers, performance artists, graphic artists, authors, musicians, service organizations, consulting firms, mail-order companies, and internet service providers.
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If you have further questions, please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) , or contact us to get started.
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