by Jill Hubbard Bowman on January 18, 2012
Benefits of Copyright Registration
If your company’s core products are original works of authorship — like software, websites, video games, music videos, graphics, photographs, musical compositions, cartoons, on-line publications, articles, books, or even automated databases — you may want to get enhanced benefits by filing a formal copyright registration with the Copyright Office.
There are several important reasons to file a federal copyright registration before infringement. First, registration is necessary to even get to court. Second, if you win, the court may award statutory damages –- from $750 per infringed work to as high as $150,000 for willful infringement — and attorneys’ fees, which alone can be hundreds of thousands of dollars.
This big statutory hammer is very important when you send a cease and desist letter to an infringer. If an infringer may face paying hundreds of thousands of dollars (or even millions) to the copyright owner pursuant to the statute, they should be more likely to stop infringing and settle out of court.
And the hammer is relatively cheap.
The registration fee for a simple work filed electronically is $35. (Fees vary depending on the type of work and method of filing.)
To get the statutory benefits, however, you must file for copyright registration before infringement or within three months of publication of the work. If you file late, you will have to prove the amount of actual damages you have suffered because of the infringement and pay all of your own costs and attorneys fees. In some cases, without registration, the costs of enforcement may be too high to justify going to court.
The difference between statutory damages and actual damages can be astronomical and the copyright litigation in the music industry is illustrative.
Really, what are the actual damages from illegally downloading a song? 99 cents?
In one case, however, a jury found that a single mother who willfully downloaded 24 songs on the KaZa’s file sharing network liable for $1.9 million in statutory damages. Now, that’s a big hammer.
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The information provided in this legal blog is not intended as legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not submit questions or comments seeking legal advice or submit confidential information through this blog. By communicating through this blog, you understand and agree that the information will not be treated as confidential and the publisher has no duty to keep it confidential.
by Jill Hubbard Bowman on January 17, 2012
January is a great time of year to take stock of your IP protection strategy.
How has your business grown or changed?
Have you shifted your brand strategy?
Have you created new core technology, website, or interactive platform?
If so, you should reevaluate whether:
- you have taken proper steps to protect your new brand name with trademark and service mark registrations;
- you own the IP rights to the new core technology;
- you may be able to file for patent or copyright protection; and
- you have the proper licenses to the copyrighted works you are using.
You don’t want someone else to register your most fabulous brand name.
You don’t want to be barred from obtaining a patent because you waited too long to file your initial application.
You want to avoid copyright infringement.
Most importantly, you want to own the IP for works created for your company.
Taking time to review your strategy can help you stay on track to protect your company’s most valuable assets — its IP.
The information provided in this legal blog is not intended as legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not submit questions or comments seeking legal advice or submit confidential information through this blog. By communicating through this blog, you understand and agree that the information will not be treated as confidential and the publisher has no duty to keep it confidential.
by Jill Hubbard Bowman on October 20, 2011
As an IP attorney who has conducted due diligence for VCs, Angels, and acquiring companies, I’m wondering:
Is your startup ready for due diligence?
Do you even know what that means?
Let me explain what IP due diligence is and why your preparation today is important.
If you are very fortunate and a savvy investor or company wants to invest in or buy your company, your startup will likely be subject to a process called “due diligence.” This means that one or more attorneys will carefully examine your IP and company records — its contracts, licenses, assignments, and IP filings. They will ask a lot of questions about what you have done in the past and they will judge your credibility and IP knowledge.
The attorneys will be trying to find out what you have done right and what you have done wrong. They will be trying to find potential liability and risks for the investors.
Don’t kid yourself. It is highly likely that the attorneys will find where you have screwed up.
Importantly, the attorneys will be ascertaining whether your startup owns the IP it says it does or whether it has failed to do what is necessary to nail the IP to the company.
- Do you have proper signed, written IP assignment agreements with all founders, key contractors, and employees that transfer all IP to the company?
- Have you used cheap, sketchy foreign contractors to create your key technology with self drafted contracts?
- Do you really have the right to use the IP you say you do or are you missing a critical license from a university or consultant?
- Are former employers of the founders threatening to sue for trade secret misappropriation and ownership of the key technology?
These are just a few of the issues the attorneys will examine.
If the attorneys find problems, like your startup doesn’t own the IP or it’s at high risk for potential liability, your deal may be derailed.
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The information provided in this legal blog is not intended as legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not submit questions or comments seeking legal advice or submit confidential information through this blog. By communicating through this blog, you understand and agree that the information will not be treated as confidential and the publisher has no duty to keep it confidential.
