Copyright
Owning it is not the same as proving it.
Copyright exists from the moment you create the work. But in the United States, registration is what lets you go to court and claim statutory damages and legal costs. Without it, even a clear case of copying becomes expensive to fight and cheap to ignore.
What we register
- Design and illustration. Prints, patterns, packaging, characters — the work that gets copied fastest on marketplaces.
- Photography. Single images or batches from the same shoot, filed as a group to keep the cost down.
- Software. Source code deposited with the parts you need to keep confidential redacted.
- Text and audiovisual work. Manuals, courses, books, video and music.
Someone is already copying you
We prepare and send takedown notices to Amazon, Etsy, Shopify, eBay and the main social platforms, and we deal with the counter-notice if one arrives. A registration on file makes those notices considerably harder to dismiss.
Copyright questions
What people get wrong.
Is it worth registering if copyright is automatic?
If your market is the United States, yes. Registration is a precondition for filing an infringement suit there, and registering before the infringement starts is what unlocks statutory damages and attorney's fees. That difference decides whether a case is economically worth bringing at all.
Can I register work I made years ago?
Yes, older work can still be registered. The sooner the better, though: the strongest remedies are available when the registration predates the copying, so a late filing protects you going forward more than backwards.
Do I have to be a U.S. citizen or company?
No. Authors from any country can register with the U.S. Copyright Office, and most international treaties make that registration recognisable elsewhere. Nationality does not change the fee or the procedure.
Copyright or trademark — which one do I need?
Copyright covers the work itself: the drawing, the code, the text. A trademark covers the name and logo you trade under. A brand that sells an illustrated product usually needs both, and they are filed with different offices. Ask us and we will tell you which one protects the thing you are actually worried about.
Next step
Show us the work. We will tell you how to protect it.
A first assessment is free and costs you one email. You get a written answer within one business day.