Search thousands of topics on CostHelper

BROWSE ALL TOPICS >> babies & children  cars  consumer electronics health & personal care home & garden personal finance  pets  schools small business sports weddings
CostHelper > Small Business  > Copyright

Copyright Cost


How Much Does a Copyright Cost?

 
low costLow: Freeaverage costMedium: $45-$100high costHigh: $300-$400+

Copyright protects the "authorship" or creative ownership of an original work that is fixed in some physical form, such as a book, manuscript, video, CD or other format. Dance steps cannot have copyright protection, but a movie of the dance does.

Typical costs:

  • In a sense, US copyright protection is free because anything created in the US after April 1, 1989 automatically has a legal copyright. It helps to add a copyright notice on your work ("Copyright YEAR by YOUR NAME" or ©YEAR by YOUR NAME), in case there's ever any question of ownership or to be sure others know not to use or reproduce the work without your legal permission. However, a work is legally considered protected and the product of its creator or creators even if it is not marked with a copyright notice.
  • To be sure your copyright is part of the public record or if you might need to defend your copyright in a court of law, you can register your copyright with the US Copyright Office[1] by filing an application, a nonrefundable fee of$45 and a nonreturnable copy of the work.
  • For a $100 nonrefundable fee, motion pictures, sound recordings, musical compositions, books, computer programs, and advertising or marketing photographs that are being prepared for commercial publication can be preregistered with the US Copyright Office[2] .
  • A copyright attorney may charge $250-$350 (including the $45 federal filing fee) to guide you through the registration process. You may need to consult a copyright lawyer ($100-$300 hourly rate) if someone wants to use your copyrighted work and you need a legal licensing agreement, or if you're involved in a lawsuit over a copyright violation.
  • There are online services providing help registering a copyright, but the forms and information are all easily available online[3] or by calling The US Copyright Office at (202) 707-9100 (not toll-free).
Related articles: Patent, Trademark, Incorporating a Business

What should be included:
  • Generally, copyright protection lasts for 70 years after the death of the author/creator; if the work is "made for hire," by employees as part of their jobs, the copyright is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. As a general rule anything published in or before 1923 can be copied or used without permission or penalty. Items published on the web are often protected by copyright and shouldn't be reused without permission.
  • The US Copyright Office[4] has links to an extensive list of copyright topics and details.
  • WhatIsCopyright.org provides a detailed, one-site overview of copyright protection.
  • Names or phrases aren't protected by copyright law, but can be registered as a trademark. Inventions, ideas and processes can't be copyrighted; they can potentially be protected with a patent.
Additional costs:
  • If you need to amend a copyright claim or have other special services, the US Copyright office has a chart of other fees[5] ranging from $3 for copying a single slide to $685 for special claim services.
post Post   Comments (1)  
CostHelper News


7 Lesser-Known Discounts for the 50+ Crowd
As they age, members of the Baby Boomer generation don't like to admit that they're senior citizens, but they love getting discounts. It's kind of a quandary, because some of the best deals available are reduced prices for older folks. || Posted October 21 2013


7 Ways to Stretch Your Reduced Food Budget
End of the year budgets are tight for everyone, especially in this economy.It's especially hard for the millions of Americans who depend on government programs like food stamps to help make ends meet. || Posted November 11 2013

‣ All CostHelper Blog Posts


What People Are Paying - Recent Comments
Not sure Xlibris is correct.
Amount: $0.00
Posted by: Anne Richards in Florence, OR.Posted: November 19th, 2008 08:11PM
How Done: by phoneFirm: Xlibris
Today I was told by the phone solicitor that in order to copyright my self-published book and obtain a Library of Congress number I would have to pay over $700.00 but if I got the three payment package I would pay a little over $400.00 to be added to the cost of getting my book published. Was she correct? Is the major expense the registration? Would appreciate an answer as they have set a deadline on the half-price of publishing and would add the copyright and registration costs in a three-payment plan.
Was this post helpful to you?   yes     no Report prohibited or spam


 

Comment On Your Experience With a Copyright
 
Subject:  *
Amount Spent:  *
How Done: Firm: 
Comments: 
Purchased:  Year: 
City:  * State:  *
 
Information about you:
Email:  * Email addresses are not displayed.
Name:  This is the name we'll display with your post.
me on this computer
*=required field.
 



External Resources:
  1.  www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-register.html#register
  2.  www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-prereg.html#what_is
  3.  www.copyright.gov/forms/
  4.  www.copyright.gov/
  5.  www.copyright.gov/docs/fees.html
More Small Business Topics
Check Out All Costs for Small Business How Much Does Office Cleaning Cost? How Much Does an Event Photographer Cost? How Much Does a Security Guard Cost?

Search Thousands of Topics on CostHelper.com

 
Today's Featured Cost Articles

About CostHelper
CostHelper is based in Silicon Valley and provides consumers with unbiased price information about thousands of goods and services. Our writers are experienced journalists who adhere to our strict editorial ethics policy.

CostHelper Community
UTI urgent care visit
Paid: 147.00
Visit was $135. Antibiotics was $12. Waiting for four hours in the waiting room and the visit was quick... [more]
-nervouschomper
Urinary Tract Infection Treatment Cost
Spanish Medical Interpreter
Paid: 150.00
I worked with SynShyne Services out of Monroe, NC. They were so worth the price! Professional, friendly, accurate, great attitude and always on time. I recieved an itemized report after every contact and a user friendly invoice weekly... [more]
-Gregory Richardson
Interpreter Cost
Dat
Paid: 495.00
This is how much I am paying... [more]
-Calista Christian
Dental Admission Test Cost
Shingrix
Paid: 48.00
... [more]
-Not that BB
Shingles Vaccine Cost
Skin prick allergy test
Paid: 573.00
Took my 9 yr. old in after an allergic reaction to eggs. Several panels for nuts, fish & top 8 allergens. Sure enough, egg came up. Got a script for epinephrine and left... [more]
-D’s mom
Allergy Testing Cost
Estimate for Teeth Cleaning Cat
Paid: 0.00
13 year old cat …teeth extractions, X-rays, blood work, anesthetic, cleaning estimate 2 to 3 thousand... [more]
-Terrimarie
Cat Teeth Cleaning Cost