If you’re any good at producing content —any kind of content— then you’ve probably heard about the US Copyright Office. Well, I’m not here to tell you what it does, because —for that— you can buy a variety of books on Amazon and learn on your own. But what I am going to tell you is to SAVE YOUR MONEY.
They just don’t work! They suck at what they do!!!
I’ve been producing content for 22 years. I produce video, audio, written materials, photography and online content in a variety of formats.
Like you, I learned that if you produce your original work of authorship —like they call it in the law— and you don’t register it with the US Copyright Office, then you won’t be able to seek monetary restitution for copyright infringement in a court of law.
In other words, if you don’t register no lawyer will take your case.
The funny thing is that if you DO register you won’t get any joy either! Why? Because the people at the US Copyright Office suck at what they do.
The last four registrations that I sent their way simply disappeared. Vanished! Puff!!! Two hundred dollars in registration fees went straight to the trash. Why? Because I never received the registration certificates!
Following up in writing is just an additional waste of money. They just don’t answer. Delivery confirmation? Forget it! Return receipt? Don’t make me laugh! You’ll get back your little green card. But that’s all you’ll get. Hell, they don’t even sign the damn thing!
I’ve waited for almost two years. Hell, I’ve even thought about sending my complaint straight to the White House. Then I realized that the President’s out on the road campaigning, so he’s probably not going to answer either.
So here’s my advice. Save yourself the grief and the money. Copyright sucks!!! Sure, the idea sounds great on paper. But it’s a waste of time. Like many other government institutions it’s broken.
Besides, if your work does get pirated you probably won’t find out anyway. So like the song used to say “don’t worry, be happy”.
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