Fight for Your Right to Copyright

One of the questions that I field occasionally from aspiring writers is how to register copyright works.

The (very short) answer is: you can’t. There is no such thing as a “Copyright Registry” and, even if there were, it may create as many problems as it solves.

Copyright protection is very easy to obtain. Indeed, it is automatically obtained for any original literary work and applies as soon as it is written. There is nothing further you need do and no-one you need to inform in order to claim copyright: you just need to write down the words (as long as they are original).

Acquiring copyright protection is one thing, but enforcing it can be quite another, especially in cases where two or more parties claim that they were the original authors of the work. While there is no “official registry” where you can file your original work once you have completed it, there are some practical steps that you can take as an author to establish evidence of originality.

A service that can be provided to writers by solicitors is to time-stamp their work. This is easy to do. Simply give your solicitor a printed copy of the work and ask them to officially stamp and date each individual page. For extra security, give them two copies and ask them to time-stamp both, return one to you and keep another in your file.

This time-stamping method is useful because it provides third-party verification of the existence of the work in its format at a certain date. This can be very useful and compelling evidence in the event that someone else comes along claiming the work is their original work for they would need to adduce evidence that their work pre-dates yours.

Of course, time-stamping is not conclusive in itself, nor does it verify or prove that the work is an original work. It merely evidences that the work in a certain format was in existence at the date of the time-stamping.

As for the cost, well, that is something that you have to negotiate with your professional adviser. If your original work consists of a 800-page ‘magnum opus’, then the cost could mount up. Even so, this outlay has to be judged against the potential costs of not taking any steps to protect your original work. That could cost you a great deal more.

David Carr

Carr & Kaye Solicitors

HighStreetLawyer Hampstead