Services

Copyrights

Registering creative work, taking down copies, and enforcing or defending copyright claims.

Protecting the work itself

Copyright protects original creative work, including software, writing, photographs, music, video, and design, from the moment it is fixed in a tangible form. Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is what lets you sue for infringement of a U.S. work and, if you register in time, ask for statutory damages and attorney’s fees.

Litigateways registers works, sorts out who owns them, gets infringing copies taken down, and litigates when a letter is not enough.

What we handle

  • Copyright registration for software, written works, photographs, music and sound recordings, video, and visual art
  • Ownership questions: works made for hire, contractor and employee agreements, and joint authorship
  • DMCA takedown notices and counter-notices
  • Cease-and-desist letters over infringing copies, whether you are sending one or answering one
  • Copyright licenses and assignments
  • Fair use questions before you publish
  • Federal copyright infringement litigation, for plaintiffs and defendants

Registering early matters. Statutory damages and attorney’s fees are generally available only if the work was registered before the infringement began, or within three months after it was first published.

Primary contact

Francisco Ferreiro

Francisco Ferreiro

Attorney at Law

Board Certified in Intellectual Property Law by The Florida Bar. Handles copyright registration, DMCA notices, licensing, and infringement litigation. Works in English and Spanish.

francisco@litigateways.com
(941) 702-3042

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About Francisco

How copyright registration works

Step 1

Confirm ownership

We confirm what you are registering and who owns it. Work made by an outside contractor usually belongs to the contractor unless a signed agreement transfers it.

Step 2

File

We prepare the application and the deposit copy, and choose the right type of application, including group options for photographs and unpublished works.

Step 3

Examination

The Copyright Office reviews the claim. Online applications currently take a few months on average, and longer if the examiner has questions.

Step 4

Enforce

Registration lets you sue over a U.S. work. Takedown notices and demand letters can go out sooner, but statutory damages and attorney’s fees depend on registering in time.

Common questions

Yes. Copyright exists as soon as original work is fixed in a tangible form. For a U.S. work, though, you cannot file an infringement suit until the Copyright Office has registered the work or refused it, and registering late limits what you can recover.

Not automatically. Unless the designer was your employee doing the work as part of the job, or signed a written assignment, the designer usually owns the copyright and you have, at most, permission to use it. A short assignment agreement fixes this, and it is easier to get before a dispute than after.

The Copyright Office reports that online applications have recently averaged three to four months, and longer when the examiner needs to correspond with the applicant. Special handling is available for an added fee when litigation is pending or expected.

You send a notice to the website host or platform identifying your work and the infringing copy. Most platforms remove the material quickly to keep their safe-harbor protection. The person who posted it can file a counter-notice, and the platform may then restore the material in 10 to 14 business days unless you file suit first.

Courts weigh four factors: the purpose of the use, the nature of the original, how much was taken, and the effect on the market for the original. No word count or percentage is automatically safe. If you plan to publish something built on another person’s work, get an opinion before it goes out.

Don’t ignore it, and don’t reply before you understand it. We look at whether the work is registered, whether protected expression was actually copied, and what the claimant could recover, then recommend whether to negotiate, push back, or remove the material.

Have a work to register or a copy to take down?

Tell us what the work is, who made it, and where it is being used. Francisco will review your inquiry and follow up.

Schedule a consultation