Register International

Copyright Registration by Country


By Andrew Hudson  November 1, 2013

Thanks to the Berne Convention agreement, almost all countries provide copyright automatically, without requiring registration. Some countries — notably the U.S. — require registration for certain additional legal processes, so a federal system is provided. Other countries —including the U.K., Germany, Australia, Denmark, and Sweden — do not require copyright registration for any purpose, so no registration process is provided.

Here is a chart from Wikipedia.

Copyright Registration by Country

CountryRegistration Agency (if any)Copyright registration requirements
AlbaniaAlbanian Author’s Right OfficeVoluntary. Registration is acceptable in court as evidence of author’s right.
Antigua and BarbudaNoneNot required. No voluntary procedure available.
ArgentinaMinistry of Justice, Security, and Human RightsVoluntary. Registration serves as presumption of authorship and date of creation.
AustraliaNoneNot required. No voluntary procedure available.
BelarusNational Center of Intellectual PropertyVoluntary. May establish evidence of date of creation and a presumption of ownership.
BrazilVarious, depending on subject matterVoluntary. Registration may help to provide evidence of authorship and which may aid in certifying precedence in the case of two similar works.
CanadaCanadian Intellectual Property OfficeVoluntary. Registration is evidence of ownership in an infringement case.
ChinaNational Copyright AdministrationVoluntary. Recommended, especially for software.
DenmarkNoneNot required. No voluntary procedure available.
EgyptNoneNot required. No voluntary procedure available.
FranceOffice of Literacy and Artistic PropertyVoluntary, may establish evidence of date of creation and a presumption of ownership.
GermanyNoneNot required. No voluntary procedure available.
IndiaCopyright OfficeVoluntary, establishes prima facie evidence of the facts contained on the registration certificate and may be used in court as proof of those facts.
IsraelNoneNot required. No voluntary procedure available.
JamaicaNone - The Intellectual Property Services Centre is a non-profit organization that provides private registration services and is recommended by the Jamaican Intellectual Property Office for that purposeNot officially available, though voluntary registration through the Intellectual Property Services Centre provides rebuttable evidence of authorship and/or ownership. The Jamaican Intellectual Property Office officially recommends the practice of "poor man’s copyright" to provide evidence of ownership and creation date.
JapanAgency for Cultural AffairsVoluntary, establishes presumption of facts contained in registration for use in court.
KenyaKenya Copyright BoardVoluntary, establishes prima facie evidence of the facts contained on the registration certificate and may be used in court as proof of those facts
LithuaniaNoneNot required. No voluntary procedure available.
MexicoNational Copyrights InstituteVoluntary, establishes prima facie evidence of ownership.
Russian FederationRospatentVoluntary registration available for computer programs and databases.
SpainMinistry of CultureVoluntary, offers refutable presumption of copyright and ownership, but not required to file suit for infringement.
SwedenNoneNot required. No voluntary procedure available.
TurkeyMinistry of CultureRequired for cinematographic works and phonograms, voluntary for all other works. Registration may be used as evidence.
UkraineNational Office of Intellectual PropertyVoluntary.
United KingdomNoneNot required. No voluntary procedure available.
United States of AmericaUnited States Copyright OfficeNot required to obtain copyright protection, but required for domestic copyright owners to bring a suit for copyright infringement in federal court. Not required for a federal court’s subject-matter jurisdiction, however, as established through the Supreme Court decision in Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick. Registration establishes prima facie evidence of facts contained in registration certificate if made within five years of first publication. Copyright owners are precluded from collecting statutory damages and/or attorney’s fees for any infringement occurring before registration. Foreign copyright owners are not required to register before suing for copyright infringement, but at least one court has held that they are subject to the same preclusion of statutory damages as domestic authors.
Source: Wikipedia

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