Furthermore, the Copyright Act of 1976 abolished the dual system of copyright protection that had previously consisted of federal and common law protection and replaced it with one system - federal protection. Copyright protection automatically exists from the moment of creation for any work that satisfies the originality and fixation requirements. However, even though copyright protection automatically exists, and copyright registration is no longer required to protect a published work, there are significant benefits for the copyright owner to copyright register their creative work. Copyright registration is voluntary and may be effected at any time the work is still protected by copyright. The registration process permits the owner of any of the exclusive rights in the copyrighted work to register their work once it has been created.
Registration is available for both published and unpublished works.
Although registration is not required to establish copyright protection for a creative work, this legal formality when complied with provides the copyright owner with protection that far exceeds the time and cost of obtaining such registration. Registering the copyrighted work is not a very timely, costly or complex process and it can be accomplished by the copyright owner or the owner s agent such as a copyright attorney or copyright registration service. Regretfully, many copyright owners neglect to obtain copyright registration for their creative works. The copyright owner should register a work in a timely manner for the following reasons. First, in the United States copyright registration is a prerequisite for bringing a copyright infringement lawsuit.