How to Register a Copyright in Georgia

Introduction

Copyright is one of the most important legal protections available to creative artists. A copyright gives you exclusive ownership over your work and sets out specific rights that make it illegal for anyone else to use your work without your permission. Therefore, as a business running in Georgia, it is of utmost importance to know how to register a copyright in Georgia.

The U.S. Copyright Office registers works created by U.S. citizens, but not everyone needs this registration in order to pursue a lawsuit against an infringer or collect statutory damages if they win their case (more on this later). A copyright lasts for the life of its creator plus 70 years after death—and there are ways to renew them if necessary—but a registered copyright offers additional protection beyond this baseline duration.

Step-by-Step Guide To Register Your Copyright in Georgia

Copyright is a form of legal protection for original works. This includes literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works such as books, movies, music, and software. Copyright also protects the way you represent your work to the public.

The U.S. Copyright Office is responsible for registering copyrights in the United States. To register copyright in Georgia with them you’ll need:

• A completed application form (Form CO)
• The filing fee ($35 per application)

Benefits of Registering your copyright

The benefits of registering a copyright include the following:

You can get statutory damages. If you register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office, you can elect to receive statutory damages instead of actual damages if someone infringes on your copyright by using it without permission. Statutory damages are much larger than actual damages because they’re set by Congress and not determined by a court after trial. However, registering your work does not mean that you’ll automatically receive statutory damages; it simply allows for this option if needed during litigation or settlement negotiations with an infringer.

Registering your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office comes with some great benefits. Keep in mind that only an owner of a copyright can file for registration. If you’re not sure whether there are multiple owners or if you’d like to determine who owns a copyright, contact an intellectual property attorney. Once you know that you own the copyright, here are some reasons why it’s important to register it:

Registering gives you legal protection against infringement. The basic principle is simple: If someone infringes on your copyrighted material without permission, they’re violating the law and you can sue them for monetary damages and legal fees. This means that if someone uses part of your book without permission—even if they don’t sell copies or make money from publishing it—they can still be sued for damages and attorney’s fees by the person who owns exclusive rights over your work.

When To Register Your Work

If you register your work within three months of publication or distribution, consider it ‘published’ on the date of the first publication or distribution. This means that a person who infringes your rights during that time period will be liable for damages from the moment his/her infringement began — even if he/she didn’t know about your copyright until later. This can be an important benefit for creators with works undergoing initial distribution (e.g., books, CDs, and DVDs), but who might still have some marketing and publicity left to do before sales peak.

If you don’t register your work in less than five years after creation, however, then you must sue in state court for copyright infringement claims. You cannot bring a lawsuit in federal court until then. Also note that if someone does infringe upon your copyright without authorization (for example by copying portions of your website without permission), then this constitutes a violation of state law as well as federal law—and only courts have jurisdiction over state law claims.

You Can Bring a Lawsuit in Federal Court

If you have registered your copyright, the law allows you to bring a lawsuit for copyright infringement in federal court. That’s because the Copyright Act allows an owner who has registered a work to seek statutory damages for infringement and recover attorney’s fees and costs from the infringer. These remedies are available regardless of whether the infringement caused any actual damage. The Copyright Act also provides for this relief for an unregistered before an infringement occurs. However, it will reduce statutory damages by 50%.

Finally, it is important to remember that if you register your copyright after an infringement has occurred but before filing suit (or within three months after filing), then you may still seek statutory damages up to $30,000 per work infringed instead of actual damages or profits from sales or licensing fees.

What If Someone Infringes on Your Copyright?

The law has set statutory damages and awards them regardless of any actual damage done to the original creator. The owner of the copyright, or author, can recover statutory damages, or statutory minimum damages established by law that are awarded regardless of any actual damage done to the original creator. The owner may also be entitled to attorney’s fees and legal costs in pursuing an infringement claim in court. If a work is not registered before an infringement occurs, then it is ineligible for these damages, which means that the owner of the infringing copy may actually win out financially over the creator of the original work.

Conclusion

The importance of registering your copyright is not something that you should take lightly. It can be a very powerful tool in protecting your creative work from people using it without permission, or even worse, someone else who might try to pass it off as their own. While there are many different reasons why you might want to register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office, we hope this guide has helped you understand what those benefits are and how they can help protect your rights as an artist!