Do I Need to Copyright My Work?
If you’re a visual artist, musician, writer, or designer, chances are you’ve asked: Do I need to do anything to copyright my work?
The answer: Yes and no.
Copyright as automatic—but registration gives you greater protections.
Under U.S. law, your original creative work (like a painting, song, photo, or written piece) is automatically protected by copyright the moment it is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression"—i.e., write it down, record it, or save it to a hard drive. It does not need to be published or registered for you to hold copyright. In other words, if you have completed a creative, original work, it is protected by copyright.
However, you can’t enforce that copyright in court unless you’ve registered it with the U.S. Copyright Office.
So Why Register your Work?
Even though copyright is automatic, registration gives you:
· The ability to sue for infringement
· Presumption of ownership in court
· The chance to recover statutory damages and attorney’s fees (if the work is registered within three months of publication)
If you skip registration and someone copies your work, you can still register the work and sue—but you’ll likely have to prove actual losses, which can be hard and expensive.
What Can You Copyright?
Just about any original creative work:
· Paintings and illustrations
· Photography
· Writing (books, scripts, poems)
· Films
· Graphic design and logos (if they’re artistic enough)
· Music compositions and recordings
· Websites and software code
You cannot copyright ideas, methods, titles, or common symbols. You also cannot typically copyright AI generate works, even if you supplied the prompt, unless you have done considerable creative work on top of whatever the AI generated. (In January 20025, the Copyright Office clarified that “outputs of generative AI can be protected by copyright only where a human author has determined sufficient expressive elements. This can include situations where a human-authored work is perceptible in an AI output, or a human makes creative arrangements or modifications of the output, but not the mere provision of prompts.”) This is an evolving issue and if you’re interested in the current state of the law please reach out
How to Register your Work
Registration is done online through copyright.gov. You’ll need:
· A copy or an image of the work
· Some basic information about the author and publication
· A $45–$65 filing fee
The process is fairly straightforward, but if you’re unsure how to list contributors, determine publication date, or choose the right category, it’s worth getting help.
If you want help registering your work or dealing with potential infringement, please reach out. We work with artists and creatives to protect their work and intellectual property.