Why creators should register copyrights in their IP now (yes, now)

Creators pour time and energy into creating valuable intellectual property that can be stolen with a mouse-click. Napster is gone but its legacy of free-for-all lives on. Not every infringement can be prevented. If your work gets taken, the most critical factor for whether you can favorably settle or successfully litigate is having a copyright registration before the infringement began.

 While a creative work is automatically protected by copyright as soon as it is created and fixed in a tangible medium, you need to officially register that copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office to gain the true benefits of copyright protection. Registering copyrights as soon as, or even before, a work is released offers legal, financial, and practical advantages that all creators should consider.

 1. Attorneys’ fees, attorneys’ fees, attorneys’ fees

The single most important thing to remember: If your copyright is registered before it’s infringed, you can obtain an award of attorneys’ fees if you prevail in a lawsuit. The leverage this gives you can’t be overstated.

 Litigation is expensive. The real kick in the pants as a copyright plaintiff—if you don’t have a registration before infringement occurs—is that whatever you spend enforcing your rights is gone and never coming back. Your presuit calculation is this: (recoverable damages) – (attorneys’ fees) = do I file or not? If this is a negative number, filing suit isn’t worth it unless there is a higher value in obtaining an injunction prohibiting further infringement.

 To make things worse, the defendant always has a chance to recover their attorneys’ fees if they win. Sun Tzu (or some other military guy) calls this asymmetric warfare. If a defendant fights and loses, they only pay their attorneys and you still pay yours. As a creator, if you file an infringement suit and lose, not only do you pay your own attorneys, you may end up paying the defendant’s lawyers too. That can exceed multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars, especially if the other side is a big company with a big law firm.

 What’s the answer? Get a copyright registration immediately—optimally before you release your work to the public. Then if you send a demand letter to a copycat, they will know that you can sue them and win and they could have to pay for it. They don’t have the luxury of brushing you off or forcing you to file suit and seek a default judgment without any consequences. If you have a registration, you can even get an award of attorneys’ fees as part of a default judgment. Especially for smaller creators without big litigation budgets, this is a serious cudgel you can wield to force a copier to deal with you on your own terms.

 2. Eligibility for statutory damages

Not only are you eligible for attorneys’ fees, you may also recover significantly higher damages if you register your copyrights. Ordinarily, if your work is infringed, the most you can get are actual damages—meaning the amount of monetary loss you suffered from an infringement. If someone copies your songs and streams them on their website, you might recover millions in damages—if you’re Metallica. But for most common infringements, such as unauthorized use of a photo on a website, actual damages are somewhere between zero and hundreds of dollars. Hardly worth suing over. (And remember, without a registration, that three-figure damages award would be weighed against definitely-not-three-figure legal expenses).

 That’s why you want statutory damages. Under U.S. copyright law, if you register your copyright before an infringement occurs, you are entitled to seek statutory damages. These can be much higher than actual damages. Statutory damages can range from $750 to $30,000 per work infringed. In cases of willful infringement, the amount can be as high as $150,000 per work. This gives you far more leverage to negotiate a settlement, even if you can’t prove that you’re Andy Warhol and have a history of past seven-figure licensing deals.

 3. You need a registration to file a lawsuit

You can’t file suit without a copyright registration. While registrations can be obtained on an expedited basis, the fee to do so is high ($850 per application). If you need to file suit quickly, it’s better to have your registration already in hand.

 And sometimes an IP owner needs to act quickly. For example, say someone is selling unauthorized prints of your photograph on Etsy. If you submit a takedown notice under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to Etsy and the alleged infringer submits a counter-notice, you only have 10 business days to file suit for infringement. If you don’t, Etsy will put the knockoff prints back up on the site. It’s better to have your registration secured in advance than be scrambling around to gather information for a copyright application and paying a much higher application fee. Deciding to litigate is stressful enough without that extra hassle.

Even if you don’t sue, having a registration allows a nimbler response if you find someone infringing your copyright. You can send a cease-and-desist letter with the backing of legal authority, and if necessary, you will have a much stronger case should you decide to litigate.

 4. More effective DMCA enforcement

Registering your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office makes it easier to use alternative dispute resolution mechanisms such as DMCA takedown notices. If your work is used without permission online—whether on a website, social media platform, or in a video—having a registered copyright allows you to request a takedown notice directly from the platform provider, and the process is more likely to be swift and effective.

 While it’s not technically legal, certain platforms like TikTok and Alibaba require that a copyright be registered before they will respond to a DMCA notice. Without a registration number to input into their online forms, the takedown request will be ignored. Even other platforms like Google Play and the Apple App Store tend to respond more quickly when you can provide a copyright registration number in a DMCA request. It shows you’re serious.

 5. Easier to license and monetize your work

Your copyrights, like your trademarks, are a big part of your business value. Copyright registration helps you establish clear ownership of your work, making it easier to license or sell it to others. Whether you're negotiating with a publisher, record label, or film studio, having a registered copyright puts you in a stronger bargaining position. It signals that you have legally protected your work and are serious and knowledgeable about your rights.

 6. Peace of mind

Copyright registration provides creators with peace of mind. By securing a registration early, you know you’ve done everything possible to weight the odds in your favor if someone copies your work. And you can walk into a stressful legal situation well prepared with leverage to pursue takedowns and settlement.

 In fields like music, literature, or visual arts, controlling the integrity of your work is not just a financial issue—it’s a personal one. Copyright allows creators to protect the way their work is presented to the world and to avoid the misrepresentation of their creative output. The act of registration creates a formal record of your authorship and the date of creation. This can be invaluable in situations where you need to prove that you were the first creator of a specific work, especially if you are concerned about potential claims of plagiarism or unauthorized use. With digital works constantly being uploaded, shared, and redistributed online, a clear paper trail of ownership is can be crucial.

 Don’t wait—register early

Registering your copyright as soon as possible is one of the best steps a creator can take to protect their IP. The copyright registration process is simple and affordable, and the benefits far outweigh the costs and effort involved. As soon as you’ve created something original, consider taking the next step and registering your copyright. It’s an investment in the future of your creative work.

 If you need help registering a copyright or navigating the complexities of IP protection, I would be happy to guide you through the process and help you safeguard your valuable creations.