Register the copyright in your creative work.
Protect your courses, photography, designs, software, and other original work, and license them for revenue.
Starting at $500 per work, plus Copyright Office filing fees from $65 for one work by one author
Copyright protects original creative work, such as courses, photography, software, books, music and video games, from the moment it is fixed. Registering with the US Copyright Office lets you enforce it. For US works you generally must register before suing, and timely registration unlocks statutory damages and attorney’s fees.
Modern Mark files copyright applications, sends DMCA takedowns, negotiates settlements, handles Copyright Claims Board cases, and licenses creative work.
Do I need to register a copyright?
Copyright exists automatically, but for US works you generally need a registration before you can sue. Registering before infringement, or within three months of publication, also makes statutory damages and attorney’s fees available.
Without timely registration you may be limited to proving actual losses, which is often hard for creative work.
What damages can I get for copyright infringement?
With a timely registration you can ask for statutory damages of between $750 and $30,000 per work infringed, or up to $150,000 per work when the infringement is willful, without proving what you lost.
A court can lower the award to $200 per work when the infringer didn’t know. Without a timely registration you are limited to your actual losses and the infringer’s profits, and attorney’s fees are off the table (17 U.S.C. §§412, 504(c)). For US works, the Copyright Office must have registered or refused your application before you can file suit, as the Supreme Court held in Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com (2019).
What’s the difference between copyright and trademark?
Copyright protects creative expression, such as a course, a photo or code. Trademark protects brand identifiers, such as names, logos and slogans, that tell customers who is behind the product. A logo can be protected by both.
Names, titles and short phrases can’t be copyrighted, though trademark law can often protect them. See trademark registration.
How does a DMCA takedown work?
You send a notice to the platform or host identifying your work and the infringing copy, with a good-faith statement. The host typically takes it down. The poster can send a counter-notice; if they do, the content can go back up unless you file suit within 10 through 14 business days.
Notices have to be accurate, because knowingly false claims carry liability.
What is the Copyright Claims Board?
A small-claims tribunal inside the US Copyright Office for infringement claims of up to $30,000. It runs remotely and costs far less than federal court, but participation is voluntary and the other side can opt out.
It’s a practical option for photographers, course creators and small studios whose work is copied at a scale that doesn’t justify a lawsuit.
How long does copyright registration take?
Processing times vary and often run to months. Your registration’s effective date is the day the Copyright Office receives a complete application, so file early.
Correspondence from the Office about a defective application adds months to that.
Can I make money from my copyrights?
Yes, through licensing, assignments and other agreements that let others use your work on your terms.
Modern Mark drafts licensing agreements and assignments and advises on monetizing trademarks and copyrights together. For songs, recordings and sync deals, see copyright and trademarks for musicians.
How it works.
Tell us your needs
Fill out our matter evaluation form. The more detail you provide, the better we can help.
Free matter evaluation
We review your information and determine how we can best help. Free of charge, no commitment.
Schedule your Strategy Session
If we can help, you’ll get a link to a 45-minute strategy session with clear next steps and a quote.
More questions.
Q01Can I copyright a name or slogan?
No. Names, titles and short phrases are not protected by copyright. They can often be protected as trademarks.
Q02Is AI-generated work copyrightable?
Only the human-authored parts. The US Copyright Office does not register material generated by AI without sufficient human authorship, and applicants must disclose AI-generated content.
Q03Do I own the copyright in work a contractor made for me?
Not automatically. The creator usually owns it unless the work was made for hire or there is a written assignment. Put ownership in the contract.
Related services.
Trademark Registration
A clearance search and strategy before a USPTO filing that holds up.
Trademark Enforcement
Cease-and-desist letters, takedowns, UDRP, cancellations and monitoring.
Business Contracts
Custom contracts designed to hold up.
Business Formation
The right entity, filed correctly, in nearly any state.
Marketing Compliance
FTC and FDA review of ads, product claims and influencer deals.
Fractional General Counsel
A lawyer on speed-dial, without a full-time hire.
Trademark Monitoring
A year-round watch for copycat filings, with monthly attorney reviews.
Trademark Licensing & Monetization
Licensing, assignments, franchising and co-branding deals that turn a brand into income.
Business Legacy & Estate Planning
Plan who owns and runs the business, and the brand, after you.
IP Litigation
Trademark, copyright and trade secret disputes, taken to court when a letter isn’t enough.
Trademark Oppositions
Received a Notice of Opposition? Your answer deadline and your options for defending or settling it.
Filed It Yourself?
Attorney help when a self-filed application gets an office action, refusal, abandonment, or opposition.
Foreign Applicants
USPTO rules require trademark applicants based outside the US to be represented by a US-licensed attorney.
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