Anyone who’s tried to register a copyright in the last year or so knows how frustrating it can be waiting for your registration to be processed. For years, the copyright office has been woefully under-funded and under-staffed. It’s a government office that should be at the forefront of technological innovation but, as a recent Washington Post article explains, is sadly overcome by “a growing mountain of paper applications” causing a “serious logjam.” From the article:
The problem has tripled the processing time for a copyright from six to 18 months, and delays are expected to get worse in coming months. The library’s inspector general has warned that the backlog threatens the integrity of the U.S. copyright system.
The article goes on to argue that these logjams are seriously hurting the “little people” just trying to protect their intellectual property. But, this, I think, is a little misleading:
Marissa Ditkowsky, a Long Island teenager, has been checking her mailbox for 15 months for the copyright registration for three songs she wrote, recorded and sent on a compact disc to the federal government.
“We lost a whole year,” said her mother, Alita, who wants to launch her guitar-strumming daughter on a music career. At 14, Marissa is too young to appear on “American Idol.” Instead, she wants to sing her songs during open-mike nights at local clubs and make a professional demo she can shop to music companies.
But Alita Ditkowsky does not want her daughter to perform without a copyright, because she fears that Marissa’s songs are so good, someone else will steal them. She said she learned that lesson years ago while trying to get a job at an advertising agency.
The article then explains, “An artist doesn’t need to register a copyright to perform, publish or display an original work. But a claim filed with the government offers legal protection — it is the only way to stop someone else from copying a work.”
Hold on a second. To be clear, copyright exists automatically upon creation. Registration does not, therefore, create the copyright or ownership in the copyright. Prior to the 1976 Copyright Act, certain formalities such as registration were required to obtain the benefits of copyright, but no more.
It is true, however, that if the copyright owner wants to sue someone in order to enforce her rights against an infringer, Section 411(a) requires that registration of a claim to copyright (or a refusal by the Copyright Office to register a claim) occur before an infringement action may be commenced. Merely applying for registration is insufficient. The effect of a slow registration process then is that a copyright owner may be delayed her day in court. She is not, however, ultimately deprived of any rights.
Personally, failure to receive a timely registration from the Copyright Office wouldn’t prevent me from performing or profiting from my copyrighted work.
–Matt
CBS Radio Detroit has launched a new 