Copyright Registers

There is no official copyright register because copyright is automatic. There are certain steps you can take to protect your rights, but you do not have to register anywhere.

There are, however, a number of companies that offer unofficial copyright registers. You should think very carefully whether this is a useful service for you before choosing this route. Some of the things to think about are:

• How much does it cost and is it a one-off or regular payment?
• Are you paying just for a registration, or does the cost cover more than this, for example help with a legal action should your copyright be infringed?
• Is the registration likely to be better than the evidence you can create for yourself by sending a copy of the work to yourself by Special Delivery post and not opening the envelope upon its return?
• Are you still likely to have a problem proving that you had the copyright material at a certain time which is all that registration can help to prove?

Note that neither registration nor sending a copy of the work to yourself show that you were the creator of the work. Keeping copies of all your drafts and any other material that shows your connection with the particular copyright material as you develop it could, however, be useful evidence if you ever have to prove that you are the author.