Thank you for your interest in retaining Myers & Kaplan Intellectual Property Law, LLC to represent your interests in seeking copyright registration. This letter contains information which may be helpful to you in selecting and evaluating your materials for copyright registration.
In addition to reviewing the information contained in this letter, we encourage our clients to research this topic thoroughly before undertaking the copyright process. In addition to the information which your attorney will provide you, there are many excellent copyright law references available from a wide range of reputable sources. The United States Government Printing Office publishes several useful pamphlets on intellectual property law, including trademark. Other references may be obtained from the public library, from retail booksellers, and on the Internet. Feel free to ask our opinion as to the value of any such references. We especially recommend that you visit the United States Library of Congress website.
Copyright protections are defined within 17 U.S.C.A. § 101, et seq. Copyrights generally subsist "in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device." 17 U.S.C.A. § 102. Copyright protection also encompasses compilations and derivative works. Thus, copyrights protect any of a variety of forms of expression that have been fixed in some tangible medium through which others may perceive the expression. A copyright generally endures for the life of the author plus an extended term of years; however, the duration of the copyright may be limited or otherwise modified depending upon the date of first creation or publication of the work, the category of the work, the statutory classification of the authors, and the completeness of the records relating to the death of the authors.
Copyright ownership gives the owner the exclusive right, subject to certain statutory limitations, to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies of the work, to perform the work, and to publicly display the work. 17 U.S.C.A. § 106. Unlike a patent, a copyright may be claimed from the moment of reduction to tangible form. While there is no statutory mandate that the author comply with the extensive federal copyright registration procedures, the author is encouraged to expediently register his copyright with the United States Copyright Office and the Library of Congress. The Copyright Act provides certain extremely favorable legal rights and remedies that may not be exercised without prompt registration.
The general steps in obtaining a copyright registration are: completing the work and filing one or more applications for registration of copyright with the United States Copyright Office.
Our Questionnaire covering typical copyright documentation considerations, along with certain relevant legal questions, is attached for your consideration and use. For obvious reasons, you should continue documenting any changes to the materials at issue.
You should periodically review your answers to our Questionnaire. Should any of your answers change during your ongoing developmental efforts, be sure to document your new answers for the benefit of your copyright attorney.
One final note regarding your documentation: Remember at all times that the copyright application process is a legal proceeding, subject to state and federal law and regulation. Just as you would expect in any other legal proceeding, evidence is of paramount importance. Your evidence for copyright prosecution purposes is comprised of any document, drawing, sketch, witness, paper, or record, without limitation, which proves, or tends to prove, your answers to questions similar to those contained in our Questionnaire. Dates and other details are of critical importance. Procedures and means by which each piece of evidence may be validated and authenticated are essential. Be careful to document, record, have witnessed, compile, and preserve each and every piece of evidence bearing upon your answers to our Questionnaire.
Please feel free to consult us if you have any questions regarding the proper method of recording, authenticating, and preserving your documentation. Although the above guidelines are not relevant in every case, you should consult us if you decide to vary at all the procedure outlined above.
With regard to our standard office procedures, should you wish us to proceed with any searches or filings on your behalf (or should you simply wish to consult with us generally), please contact us. We will be happy to schedule an initial office consultation. Following that consultation, should you wish to retain this Firm, you should expect that we will prepare and mail to you our standard engagement agreement. Upon our receipt of your signed agreement and retainer fee, along with any relevant documents and/or materials, we will proceed in accordance with your instructions.
In addition to our copyright-related services, Myers & Kaplan Intellectual Property Law, LLC represents businesses, artists, designers, architects, software developers, musicians, and, of course, inventors in seeking and enforcing intellectual property rights, especially through state, federal, and international trademark, copyright, and trade secret laws.
Some of our additional services include representing inventors in prosecuting domestic and international patents; in conducting secured disclosures to industry; in finding and developing engineering, prototyping, and manufacturing resources; in developing products from concept to market-ready design; in finding and developing marketing partners; in developing business opportunities; in selling or licensing individual patents or portfolios of intellectual properties; and, in protecting intellectual property rights in all forms.
We hope that this page addresses some of your questions and will serve as a future reference for some of the services rendered by our Firm. We would be delighted to speak with you at any time should you have additional questions. Again, thank you for your interest and we shall look forward to working with you!