1. TotalCopyright is a flat fee copyright prosecution/registration legal service. The main purpose of obtaining formal copyright protection on original art (code, website, photos, logos, etc.) is, generally, court action/enforcement of a copyright claim without formal registration. 17 U.S.C. § 506(a)(1).
2. TotalCopyright – What the Fee Includes:
a. Information Gathering. Through the questionnaire/intake form you completed, a review of materials you submitted to us, and/or through reviewing content online, and general discussions, we will review and compile suggested deposits for copyright protection.
b. Strategic Sessions. A distinctive feature of our services is the strategic element. We will continue to collect background on your business and your copyrightable material through the information you provide on our platform and through our discussions and use that information to provide strategic copyright services.
c. Application Preparation and Filing. We will work with you to gather information to populate and submit the appropriate copyright application(s).
d. Application Monitoring. We will monitor the status of the filing(s) and keep you apprised. Although the U.S. Copyright Office only periodically updates information during the application process, our staff monitors the status on a regular basis. It will attempt to communicate with you on any status.
3. TotalCopyright – Additional Fees which may (but do not necessarily) accrue.
a. Filing Fees. The U.S. Copyright Office charges application fees per application. There are additional charges if the applications are expedited etc. You can find more information on the current copyright fees listed here.
b. Appeals to U.S. Copyright Office. If the examiner at the Copyright Office questions the validity or questions registration on a substantive basis (usually posed by a librarian), preparing an appeal or comprehensive response or appeal is billed hourly. We will not pursue an appeal without your consent.
c. Assignments and Agreements. At your request, we may prepare and submit assignments of copyright and agreements between claimants, which is mostly paralegal time and billed hourly.
d. Image Searches. We will not provide searches or services as part of the TotalCopyright as it is notably unreliable and costs several thousand dollars. However, the service is available to our clients, and should an image search service be necessary, fees will be discussed and mutually agreed to.
e. Legal Consultation Outside The Copyright Prosecution. We are a comprehensive business and IP law firm. We are passionate about helping our clients holistically. However, we need to charge appropriately when we assess substantive legal issues and provide substantive legal advice outside the scope agreed to in this agreement.
f. Copyright Enforcement. Because copyright registration does not provide an actual enforcement mechanism, sometimes clients wish/need us to enforce their rights in a court action. As litigation is an adversarial process, legal fees and costs are difficult to predict. However, we have litigation experience and can review the steps and budget with you in an advisory capacity, generally handled by senior attorneys and billed hourly.
4. Additional Terms
a. Time is of the Essence. The Copyright Office has strict procedural filing deadlines. Therefore, timely responses to all inquiries you made by our attorneys and staff are imperative. Failure to do so could result in missing deadlines or failure to approve the application.
As far as our attorneys and staff, we monitor our emails and eCO account and agree to respond in a reasonable time period to all inquiries.
b. Copyright FAQs. Copyright registration involves organizing your claimed relevant original work, including literary works, visual artworks, sound recordings, and/or motion pictures, etc., to best obtain both protection and limit costs to protect such works through a formal registration at the U.S. Copyright Office. The applications are filed using eCO, a system maintained by the U.S. Copyright Office. The general mantra is to file as few applications as possible (because of cost) but have each application cover as much original artistic work as possible. We consider this a strategic approach that strikes a balance between cost and benefit. It takes a MINIMUM OF THIRTY DAYS for the U.S. Copyright Office to process your copyright. For current processing times, please visit the Copyright Office website here. Also, please keep in mind the following:
i. It is very difficult to search the U.S. Copyright Registry to determine if your application constitutes an original work of art (the standard for copyright protection).
ii All copyright applications are reviewed by a librarian at the Library of Congress.
iii. The application is not assigned to a librarian for examination for a minimum of thirty days.
iv. If there are any questions regarding the application, the librarian will contact the attorney who filed the application.
v. Once and if the claimed work clears examination (the librarian usually makes a decision); however, no time frame is provided by the U.S. Copyright Office for how long the librarian has for clearance.
vi. Any status changes are monitored by EmergeCounsel staff.