Copyrights

A copyright is created once it is placed in a fixed format. However, in the United States, to enforce and protect a copyright, a copyright registration is required. Each Wolter Van Dyke Davis copyright attorney is experienced in counseling clients regarding copyrights and in assisting in obtaining, protecting and enforcing copyrights. Our experience includes filing and enforcing copyrights in the following areas:

  • computer, gaming, and mobile technology software
  • literary works
  • musical works, including any accompanying words
  • dramatic works, including any accompanying music
  • pantomimes and choreographic works
  • pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
  • motion pictures and other audiovisual works
  • sound recordings
  • architectural works
  • vessel hull designs

Each copyright attorney is also able to assist with obtaining the appropriate licenses from services such as The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) and Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) so that clients may use a copyrighted work in, for example, a public performance, on a website, or as a sample in one of their original works.

Each litigation attorney is also able to protect copyrighted works or defend against charges of copyright infringement. Our litigation experience also involves litigation of foreign copyrights under the Berne Convention. As with our other areas of practice, we are able to take steps to avoid costly litigation by using such methods as sending takedown notices and/or negotiating terms for continued use of a protected work.