How to Register a Copyright in South Carolina

Introduction

The purpose of this article is to help you understand how to register your copyright in South Carolina.

How to Register a Copyright in South Carolina

In order to register the copyright, you must first meet the requirements of the US Copyright Law. Under this law, copyright protection arises automatically when a work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. A tangible medium of expression can be any physical medium that can be perceived directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

For example, if you write your story on paper and mail it to someone as an email attachment, then there would be no need to register that particular work with anyone because it’s already been fixed in some sort of tangible medium. However, if you want to get more involved with protecting your work by registering it at the U.S Copyright Office (which we recommend), then here’s how:

How to Make your Work Copyrighted

You are not required to register your work with the South Carolina secretary of state or any other government agency to make it copyrighted. You can use the copyright symbol (©) or the word “copyright” in your work to show that you own it.

Copyright protection begins when you create a work and doesn’t end until 70 years after your death. However, registration is necessary before you can file a lawsuit for infringement of your copyrights. If someone infringes on one of your works, such as by selling copies without getting permission from you first, registering copyright gives you more options for getting compensation for damages caused by the infringement.

Benefits of Copyright

If you register your work, you can prove that you were the creator of the work. If another person or company uses your registered work without permission or credit, you can sue them for infringement. Registration also gives public notice of your claim to ownership.

Registering is also a nice thing to do if someone infringes on your copyright. The date of creation is recorded by registering with the government and will be available if someone tries to use this as evidence against them in court (or at least when they’re trying to prove their innocence).

Ways to Register

There are two ways to register your copyright: online or by mail. Online registration is faster, easier, and less expensive than mail-in registration.

Online registration allows you to file both paper and electronic versions of your work at the same time. You can even upload multiple documents at once. Plus, it’s more secure than mailing in a hard copy—no need to worry about lost or damaged packages on the way back from Washington D.C., which means that your application is more likely to make it through the review process intact (and actually get registered). Finally, as long as you’ve got an internet connection and some basic computer skills (or know someone who does), it’s definitely worth doing yourself instead of paying an attorney or other professional service fees just for this one task—especially since those costs will add up quickly if you have several copyrighted works in progress at once.

Mail-in applications take about eight weeks for approval. If there are any issues with them during their processing time frame then customers may receive additional correspondence requesting further information from their end.

Register a Copyright under the eCO Login Section

You can register online if you are the only author, or if you own all rights in a work made for hire. If there are multiple authors who contributed to your creation, you will need to fill out a paper form and mail it in.

The Copyright Office’s website has forms available to download and print so that you can fill them out electronically before mailing them in with your fee payment.

Takeaway

Registering your copyright electronically is the fastest and most cost-effective way to register. First, you will need to create an account with the U.S. Copyright Office’s website, which is free of charge. Once your account has been created, you can begin to take advantage of their services by registering your work electronically for $35 per application by one author who owns all rights in a particular work for hire (a type of work made for someone else).

Conclusion

If you have any questions about copyright, feel free to contact us. We’re happy to help!