Notes for US citizens

Historically, a copyright work had to be registered in the US to be protected in the US; this is no longer the case, but US domestic law has not fully reflected the international changes. The result is that US copyright law does not seem to recognise the same rights for its own citizens that are available in other Berne Convention countries.

The US Copyright Office, which is run by the Library of Congress, states that if you are a US citizen you must register with the US Copyright Office before you can file a law suit in a US court. (source:http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#cr - July 2004). Because of this statement, we advise those affected by this that they should also look at registering with the US Copyright Office.

This rule applies to work created by US citizens or organisations and where an infringement suit is filed in the United States. It does not affect copyright owners outside the US (even if they need to bring a legal case in the US), nor will it affect cases filed outside the US. In fact, under the terms of international conventions, US law must treat works by non-US authors as though they were registered in the US.

Yes, there are several benefits for US citizens who register with the UK Copyright Service, here are some considerations:

• We can provide a copy of your work as evidence to support your claim in any international case.
• Unlike the US Copyright Office, our archive procedures include a backup service that ensures that we will always be able to provide a full and valid copy of your work, even if the original item you submitted becomes unreadable.
• For an author with strong copyright evidence to file suit in court is fairly unusual, as with strong evidence behind you, most infringing parties would be very keen to reach a mutually amicable agreement and avoid legal costs.
• UKCS registrations are processed much quicker, immediate cover is available via our online service, while postal applications are normally processed within 2 days of receipt and confirmed within 14 days. The US Copyright Office by contrast states that you should hear after about 4 months if your submission is in order, (source:http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-register.html#length - May 2007). This means that your work will also benefit from some intermediate protection whilst you wait for the US Copyright Office to process your application.

The focus of our service and that of the US Copyright Office is not the same - the two may even be seen as complementary to some degree.

For historical reasons, registration in the US focuses on court proceedings within the US itself, while the UK Copyright Service ensures that you always have evidence available for any national or international legal case or dispute.

The following chart illustrates the key differences between the UK Copyright Service and the US Copyright Office.

	US Copyright Office	UK Copyright Service
Can provide evidence for international cases
Work is backed up to protect against data corruption, fire or other disaster
Accepts updates to existing registrations
Provides statutory damages in US court cases
Typical time required to process a registration.	4 Months	1 Day