Why should individuals or small software programmers bother with a copyright registration? Most small businesses have little extra income to expend on non-income producing matters. Often these businesses barely earn what they need to survive. Copyright protection seems like the kind of protection used by giant companies like IBM, Microsoft or Oracle. Isn't registration of a copyright an expensive and a long drawn out process? Why pay for a seemingly esoteric form of legal protection, which would be likely require a court battle to enforce?
Because those assumptions are largely untrue. Copyright registration, unlike patent or trademark registration, is inexpensive, fast and effective. A registered copyright can make a very potent weapon. Most people, even among those who know that there is a difference, think that copyright registration is similar to patent or trademark registration, in terms of its complexity, cost and time involved. It isn't.
Patent registration can cost thousands of dollars in searches, filing and attorney fees. It often will take several years to obtain the registration. A trademark will cost hundreds of dollars in trademark searches and filing fees, plus $1800.00 to $2500.00 dollars in attorney fees and search reports. It could take a year or longer to receive the registration, even if there is no opposition from the examining trademark attorney or a third party. Both patent and trademark can also include many additional supplemental fees. In comparison, copyright registration is both inexpensive and fast.
The copyright application is, in most instances, not complicated. With the help of an attorney who understands Copyright, an application can often be completed in fifteen to twenty minutes. The attorney fees can be as low as $200.00. The registration fee is $30.00, as opposed to a minimum fee of $335.00 for each trademark in each class and $370.00 for a "small entity" patent filing.
Also, unlike both patent and trademark registration procedure, copyright registration applications do not go through any lengthy internal examination procedure. Most of the delay in patent and trademark registration is usually caused by this detailed examination which is done by specialists at the Patent and Trademark Office. The Copyright Office, which is under the Library of Congress, does not have the same type of examination of the registration applications.
A copyright registration costs $30.00 to file and registration is granted in a couple of months. Considering the low cost and speed, copyright registration is a very effective tool.
