Reasons to Register
Intellectual Property Information Center at Kansas State University Online Tutorial on Copyright Basics
- U.S. citizens and legal residents who first publish their work in the U.S. cannot file a suit claiming copyright infringement until they have registered their copyright with the Copyright Office.
- To help protect against the importation of works that infringe your creation, you can place a record of your copyright with the U.S. Customs Office, but only if your copyright has been registered with the Copyright Office.
Copyright is automatically created when a work is put into a tangible form of expression (such as a writing, sound recording, speech or movie, ...) and it is not necessary to formally register your copyright to establish ownership.
However, registration is recommended for several reasons.