How to Register Copyright in the European Union

There is a lot of misinformation about copyright on the Internet with articles on how to copyright songs, copyright photos etc. all based on US law.

In the E.U you do not need to take any action to copyright any original work you create. The second you create it you automatically own the copyright.

The problem arises when you have to prove you were the original creator and that is why it can be useful to file your work with a copyright register.

#  Step 1: Decide if you really need to register the copyright on your original work. You already own the copyright, but registration will help you to prove it. If you are going to distribute your work online then registration may be a good idea.

#  Step 2: Choose a method of registration either offline or online.
–  You can register offline by visiting a lawyer or registered notary in your local community and asking him to store a sealed copy of your work. Make sure you get a signed contract stating the date of handover and that he keeps the sealed work in a secure and private location.

-You can register online at a number of different websites (for example ProveMyCopyrigt.com). Each of these will store your work in digital form and give some kind of certificate that you can use as proof of date. The difference between these registers tends to be whether you pay for an account with the company or pay for each individual piece of work you want to register.
#  Step 3: Sit back and relax. You can now verify that you are the copyright holder on your original works.

*  Learn a little about the Berne Convention on copyright. It gives you the same rights in 163 countries (including the US and all of Europe) as you do in your home country.
*  If you choose to register online with a company that offers an account based model, upload your work as you are making it, i.e drafts and work in progress as this tends to provide better proof that you are the original creator. It won’t cost you any more.

What you need to know about Intellectual Protection

Intellectual Protection does not have to be a mystery. Lets look at the five most useful methods of intellectual protection, Patents, Copyright, Trademarks and Design Rights.

Patents

Patents are basicly an intellectual protection reward for the inventor of a product or system to share the knowledge of how he or she done it. With the granting of a patent, the methods and technology become public knowledge and can be seen by all. In return, the holder of a patent has exclusive rights for a fixed period of time to do whatever he or she sees fits with the product including exclusive rights to commercialisation. It is possible to patent an idea. See more information in the patent section below.

Copyright

The most common form of intellectual protection is copyright. It is not possible to copyright an idea. Copyright comes into force instantly when something is created in a tangible form. This can include songs, music, photos, manuscripts, books etc. Copyright gives the creator of a work exclusive rights to reproduce and profit from that work. Copyright law is accepted by 163 countries who signed the Berne convention. Copyright can be registered online as proof that a person actually made the material in question. A name can not be copyright. See more information in the copyright section below.

Trademarks

A common form of intellectual protection used by companies are trademarks. Names and words used to trade under can be protected by Trademarks. Trademarks come in two forms a non-registered trade mark (TM) and a registered trademark (R). Non registered trademarks are free, but you have to be able to prove that you were the original claiment of the trademark in court to be able to fight off infringers. Registered trademarks have to be payed for but give more protection in court as a date of registration is known. See more information in the trademarks section below.

Design Rights

Design Rights are a similar form of intellectual protection to copyrights, but apply to things such as patterns , fabrics, forms etc. They can be unregistered or registered in a similar way to Trademarks. The first ever design right was granted in the United Kingdom in 1787. See more information in the Design Rights section below.