Copyright Filing

A copyright will provide protection to you provided by the laws of the United States.  This protection is for the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works for either published or unpublished works.  The Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

• To reproduce the work in copies;
• To prepare derivative works based upon the work;
• To distribute copies of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
• To perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
• To display the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work; and
• In the case of sound recordings, to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

As you can see, the owner of the copyright is also generally the owner of the work and therefore can determine how that work is either used or distributed.  If another person uses your copyright, you will have recourse against that individual.  You will need to seek legal counsel if you determine that a copyright has been infringed upon.