Copyrights

Copyrights protect original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works. Books, blueprints, computer software, jewelry, and television advertisements are examples of articles that are potentially copyrightable.

Under current law, copyrights spring magically into being just by your creating a copyrightable work. They last for ninety-five (95) years in the case of a business, or life plus seventy (70) years in the case of an individual. You need take no positive steps to have copyrights, and your copyrights extend substantially worldwide. However, it is extremely advisable to do the following:

• Copyright Notice. Place a copyright notice on your works, such as: Copyright 2008 Peacock Myers, P.C. The year is the year that a work was first made available to the public. This notice lets people know that you consider the work your property, so that they are less likely to copy it without your permission.
  
• Copyright Registration. For works that you consider at all commercially significant, you should register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office within three (3) months of first publication. This step, which costs only $45, provides the ability to receive certain beneficial damages (statutory damages of up to $150,000 per item copied) and, in many instances, attorney's fees in the event you are forced to sue someone for copyright infringement. Registration provides an important bargaining chip in getting persons to stop copying your work. Copyright registration application forms are available from:

• Library of Congress
  Copyright Office
  101 Independence Avenue SE
  Washington, D.C. 20557
  (202) 707-3000