The word “copyright” signifies ownership of a written work and establishes 'author rights' in American Law (U.S. Code Title 17). In the United States, the
concept of 'author rights' differs from the same concept in Europe and the 171 signatory nations to the Berne Convention. In the U.S., courts often won't
recognize "author rights" without physical proof. To take full advantage of those rights, a copyrighted work will almost certainly have to be registered
and deposited. Without that registration and deposit, it is far more difficult to prove the validity of the copyright in a court.
In Europe, copyright is an automatic right upon creation of a work. Copyright status is indicated by the use of the copyright symbol ©, along with the year
of publication and the name of the author. Deposit of the material does not establish author rights, but proves the existence of the right.
The CopyrightWeb.com view of copyright comes from the international perspective:
· Copyright is an automatic right of the author, afforded by law without formal act.
· The copyright deposit of any work of a literary, artistic or musical nature allows one to prove all elements of authorship, including the date of
authorship, all of which are key elements of any lawsuit for copying or plagiarism.
· Rather than rely on an American rights management company, the deposit of a copyrighted work is preferred because it provides an official and certain
method to prove the creation, authorship and date of creation of a work. Such a deposit is recognized in all 171 signatories to the Berne Convention. That
means authors will be able to assert their authors' rights in all of those countries.
· Copyright value is extremely strong (as copyright deposit is Internet-accessible) in Europe or in the Americas.
· The deposit of a work for copyright should be completed as soon as possible upon completion of the work to provide the greatest level of protection.
Each time a work has been changed, such as for an update or modification, the author should redeposit the work to ensure that every version is protected,
including the most recent version.