Beat the deadline and get copyright registration on your work before fees increase.
One thing we talk about a lot around these parts is copyright, and why you should be getting your work copyrighted. Time and time again, we hear horror stories about how a photographer had their work stolen and how getting the law on their side was an uphill battle. You can protect yourself quite easily with copyright registration, but be warned that the fees to apply for copyright protection are about to increase. Find out the details after the break.
We cannot stress enough just how important it is to get your work copyrighted. Unfortunately, we live in a time where simply slapping a watermark on your image isn’t enough to protect yourself and your work anymore. Almost everyone has access to Photoshop, and they can easily clone out watermarks, and anyone can crop a picture to cut out a stamp as well. Today, to really protect yourself, you need to apply for copyright protection. What you need to know, though, is that copyright registration fees are about to increase, so if you want to protect yourself and save a little money, you have until March 20th before the new rates go into effect.
As per an email we received from Copyright.gov, the fee for a standard registration will be increasing to $65 from $55, and the filing fee for the registration of one work by a single author with the same claimant, not for hire, will be $45 (increased from $35). So the increases are not earth-shattering by any means, but an increase is an increase.
This reason for the new fees comes from a comprehensive cost study the copyright offices held. Taken into account were evaluations of the office’s budget requirements and consideration of over 160 public comments. While a number of fees, including the fee for standard registrations, have increased so that the organization can fully recoup expenses, some fees have decreased, and others, such as the group application for photographs, remain the same.
Increases in fees are never good, but when it comes to something as important as copyright registration, and the amount of protection that registering your work can provide, the new fees are still worth it. Just considering the nightmare of having to try and prove that someone stole your work is enough to drive a person crazy. For more information, head to the official Copyright Office website. What do you think about the new copyright registration fees? Let us know in the comment section below.