Schwartz Law Firm, P.C. regularly represents business owners and entrepreneurs regarding copyright issues and the registration  process.

Copyright is a form of protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, both published and unpublished. The 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work, to perform the copyrighted work publicly, or to display the copyrighted work publicly.

The copyright protects the form of expression rather than the subject matter of the writing. For example, a description of a machine could be copyrighted, but this would only prevent others from copying the description; it would not prevent others from writing a description of their own or from making and using the machine.

The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright.  There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration.

Schwartz Law Firm is based in Charlotte, North Carolina with clients throughout the United States and internationally. Its founder and owner, Jeff Schwartz, has been selected by his peers as one of North Carolina's leading intellectual property lawyers, according to separate surveys taken by Law & Politics and Business North Carolina magazine.

For more information regarding copyright matters, please contact Schwartz Law Firm to schedule a consultation.