IP Topics
Copyrights.
Copyright protects original expression fixed in a tangible form: software, articles, photographs, designs, music, and video. Protection begins automatically, but registration determines whether an owner can sue and which remedies are available.
In Short
Copyright subsists from the moment an original work of authorship is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is not required for protection, but it is required before suing for infringement of a U.S. work, and timely registration is a condition of recovering statutory damages and attorney's fees (17 U.S.C. §§ 102(a), 411(a), 412).
Common situations.
- A business produces content, software, designs, or media as a business asset.
- A supplier claims ownership of a design developed during the project.
- Content or software is being licensed in or out.
- A work has been copied, or a business has been accused of copying.
- A DMCA takedown notice or counter-notice has been received.
- An acquisition's value lies in the target's content or code.
Key concepts.
Registration
Registration is required before filing suit on a U.S. work. Registration within three months of publication, or before infringement begins, unlocks statutory damages and attorney's fees. Late registration generally limits recovery to actual damages and profits.
Fair use
Fair use is a case-by-case defense weighed across four factors: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the work, the amount taken, and the effect on the market.
The DMCA
Section 512 provides qualifying online service providers with limitations on liability when they meet the applicable statutory conditions. Copyright owners or their authorized representatives can submit compliant takedown notices, and users may have a counter-notice option. A takedown is not a final determination of infringement. Knowing material misrepresentations in a notice or counter-notice can create liability.
Open-source licenses
Open-source components carry license obligations: attribution, source-code disclosure, or restrictions on proprietary combinations, depending on the license. A compliance review before release identifies these obligations.
AI-assisted works
Copyright requires human authorship. The D.C. Circuit held in Thaler v. Perlmutter that a work generated entirely by an AI system is not eligible for copyright, and the Supreme Court declined to review that decision on March 2, 2026. The Copyright Office registers the human-authored portions of works that include AI-generated material, with the AI-generated material disclosed. How much human contribution is enough remains unsettled.
The Question
Who owns a copyright.
Ownership questions come up in many copyright disputes. The answer usually depends on who created the work and under what arrangement (17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 201).
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The author owns it first
Copyright belongs initially to the author who created the work, not to the person who paid for it, suggested it, or owns the company.
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Employees' work belongs to the employer
Work an employee creates within the scope of employment is a work made for hire. The employer is considered the author and owns the copyright from the start, unless the parties expressly agree otherwise in a signed writing. Whether the creator is an employee and whether the work falls within the scope of employment can be disputed.
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Contractors' work usually needs an assignment
An independent contractor generally owns what the contractor creates unless there is a signed written assignment, or the work falls within one of the limited statutory categories of commissioned works and both parties sign a work-made-for-hire agreement.
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Joint works are co-owned
Joint authors co-own the copyright. Each may grant nonexclusive licenses without the other's permission but must account to the other co-owners for profits. Co-authors should agree on ownership shares in writing.
Much of a company's intellectual property is protected by copyright, including its software, marketing content, and some product designs. The guides below cover who owns a copyright and how registration works.