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Before you can select the right way to register your copyright, you should first be sure that it's what you actually need. There are three ways you can protect intellectual property: patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
A patent lets you claim ownership of an invention, either how it looks or how it works. If you're protecting your service, brand, or slogan, a trademark is the way to go. But, if an "expression of an idea" is what you've got - a book, song, photo, piece of art, or any other tangible creative work - then a copyright is indeed what you need.
Thursday, September 28th
LegalZoom offers copyright registration services that are affordable and comprehensive: they've already helped over 90,000 clients with that process alone. With your one-time fee, you'll get your application filed with the US Copyright Office, hassle-free. Clients rave about how easy it is to use LegalZoom to register a copyright, and we're pleased to keep it in the #1 spot above rival services.
If you anticipate needing a lot of expertise (or reassurance) while registering your copyright, Trademark Elite is an excellent choice. While you'll pay quite a bit more than average with this service, you'll have the peace of mind that comes from knowing you have attorney support every step of the way. Trademark Elite is one of our preferred copyright registration services.
My Corporation welcomes individuals, entrepreneurs, and business owners to take advantage of their many services - which include copyright registration. You'll pay slightly more than average here, but it's worth it to get the attention to detail and knowledgeable help from My Corporation's support team. You should have no problems getting your work registered with the US Copyright Office when you use this service.
Copyright Registration got its start in 2022 and is the most affordable of all of the services in our review: your one-time fee of under $100 includes the USCO filing costs. Although this service is too new to give our highest recommendation just yet, we expect to see good things from Copyright Registration in the future and think it's worth a look.
Rocket Lawyer is one of the original DIY legal forms platforms, including all of the documentation you need to manage a copyright. Your membership gives you unlimited access to any legal forms you want, but that's about all: you'll need to take care of the filing yourself, and you'll have to pay extra if you want an attorney's advice on the process.
The Trademark Company offers a standard copyright registration service similar to what you'll see elsewhere. But, their Platinum package comes with something unique: an NFT for "the ultimate in protection" for your creative work. Mixed client feedback makes us hesitant to give The Trademark Company a strong recommendation, but take a look if having an NFT is important to you.
Trademark Engine seems pretty straightforward for copyright registration - at first. Complete the online questionnaire in under 10 minutes, pay $99 or $199, and they'll take care of the rest. But, client feedback indicates that the story won't end there: you could be charged much more after you enter your card, and Trademark Engine doesn't have a good track record for responding to complaints. Another copyright registration service would probably be less of a hassle.
Copyrighted continues to be one of our lowest-ranked copyright registration services. Although you can get a Basic plan for free, your "registration" is only logged with the service itself and not with the US Copyright Office. There's no evidence that this company is providing any actual benefits to people who register, and they only offer an online form to ask questions (or to ask for a refund on paid services). You'll do better with a different copyright registration platform.
Copyright Registration Service might get your attention with its low fees. But don't be fooled: when you register your work with CRS, it doesn't get filed with the US government. Instead, your creation is listed with the official-sounding Intellectual Property Rights Office - which is the private business that owns CRS. This "service" is deceitful at best, so avoid it at all costs.
Copyright Application Online is good for a laugh but not much more. The service can't decide whether or not it provides legal advice, no one answers the phones during regular business hours, and there's no evidence of the 30,000+ clients who have supposedly used this provider to register a copyright. Copyright Application Online is an obvious "winner" of our lowest possible rating.
It might surprise you to know that you don't have to register your work to own its copyright. At least in the US, that right is automatically yours. However, the internet has made it all too easy for people to infringe on copyright: haven't we all heard a song and gone "Hey, I think they ripped that off from so-and-so!" or seen online fights about a photo that got turned into a meme... without the permission of the person who took it (or the person IN it)?
That's where copyright registration comes in. When you register your work with the US Copyright Office, you gain the ability to sue for infringement - because you have proof that the code, chorus, or comic actually belongs to you.
You might be wondering why you would pay for a copyright registration service, when you can file the application yourself at no extra cost (not counting, of course, the federal filing fees that typically start around $45). Let's face it: filing any kind of documentation with the government can be a process full of pitfalls, and when that process takes 8-12 months without any snags, the last thing you want is to have your copyright delayed because you had a typo, forgot to include some required element, or overlooked an important deadline. Copyright registration services have the expertise to make sure you don't experience any procedural issues that could slow down your application's approval.
Which copyright registration service should you choose? There are quite a few out there, but they're definitely not equal in terms of what they do and don't offer. Here are several factors to bear in mind as you make your choice:
To help you get your copyright registered quickly and accurately, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked today's top services. We're sure this will make it easy and affordable to protect your hard work!
Select any 2 Copyright Registration Services to compare them head to head