No. So why bother? Copyright registration provides you with an automatic presumption of copyright ownership and validity. Registration can be used to sell or license the copyrighted work. Also, if intellectual property litigation arises, you do not need to prove ownership (a sealed self-addressed stamped envelope in lieu of a copyright registration may not be enough).
In intellectual property litigation, your opponent has the heavy burden of proving that your copyright is invalid. During the legal dispute for instance, if you have a copyright registration, your opponent cannot raise ignorance of your rights as a defence.
Furthermore, if any or part of your company’s success depends on its intellectual creativity capable of copyright protection, without a proper intellectual property protection strategy, your company’s existence may be short-lived. Independent research has shown that ownership of registered intellectual property significantly increases the market value of a company.
Lastly, having a copyright registration allows you to licence your work to others in exchange for a fee, if desired.
Our copyright lawyers serving clients in Ottawa, Toronto/GTA, across Canada and overseas can assist you in obtaining copyright registration for your work, and/or negotiating copyright licencing agreements.
