Things every client should know about copyrights

Is performing a copyright search necessary?

It is not necessary to perform a copyright search prior to the preparation and filing of a copyright registration application.

This is so, in the main, because the copyright registration applicant does not, by his or her application, attest to “novelty” (i.e., to being the very first in the United States to author the work at issue). Rather, the applicant merely attests that the work is original to him or her; that is, the applicant attests that he or she didn’t copy the work from someone else, but, rather, authored the work independently. For this reason, the practical extent of copyright searching that is conducted in the marketplace is limited.