What Are You Doing With Your Copyright?

You have created a copyright protectable work and affixed it in a tangible form, and as such, you have presumably acquired protectable common law copyright rights.  One step further, you decide to file for registration with the United States Copyright Office in order to receive all the benefits that are inherent to such a registration.  You even use the copyright registration symbol © on your work to notify others that you claim ownership of the copyright.  However, as a copyright owner, what else are you doing, or should you be doing, with your copyright?

 
Unfortunately, in many cases, the copyright owner is not doing all that is possible to benefit from its copyright.  The fact of the matter is that many copyright owners are unaware of how they can benefit from their copyright to begin with.  While consulting with a copyright attorney would undoubtedly be beneficial, it may not be something that every copyright owner thinks of doing.  That said, any copyright attorney should be able to inform you of your options, such as monitoring third party use, proper protection and use, and monetization possibilities.

A copyright is a valuable piece of intellectual property that should be protected.  There are services available that allow you to identify infringing uses of your copyright.  When such infringing uses are identified, consultation with a copyright attorney, preferably one with copyright infringement litigation experience, can provide you with avenues for redress.  Not only do you want to protect your copyright from other infringing uses, but you may be entitled to compensation for those infringing uses.  In addition, a copyright is something that you can license in order to generate revenue.  A copyright lawyer can help you identify what must occur to license your copyright, the specific terms that are necessary for such a license, and how you can ensure that you limit the uses of your copyright properly.  Ultimately, it is important that you take additional steps to receive all the benefits of a copyright, whether it be monetization, protection, or otherwise.  Contact a copyright attorney who can help you with all aspects of copyright ownership.