One common misconception about copyright is that you must file paperwork with the federal government before you have a copyright. While that may be true for other forms of intellectual property, it is not so for copyright.

Still, registering your work with the Copyright Office offers some benefits that are otherwise unavailable to you as a copyright owner.

17 U.S.C. § 401 - 412

Under the current law, registration is not mandatory. Instead, it is ultimately up to the copyright's owner whether or not to do so. However, to encourage you to register, the law offers some benefits if you do so.   

• In most cases, you must possess an issued registration or a rejected application before you can you bring an infringement lawsuit to defend your copyright. (17 U.S.C. § 411 and Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC)
• If you register within three months after publication or before an infringement, you can qualify for statutory damages and attorney's fees in a lawsuit. (17 U.S.C. § 412)
• Registering provides evidence that you are the author and owner of a copyrighted work. (17 U.S.C. § 410)

For additional information about registration, see Circular 1: Copyright Basics from the Copyright Office. 

After you have decided that you should register your work, the next question is, of course, how to do so. For most works, you can register online through the Copyright Office's website. Usually, if you file online, there is a $35 fee. To file in print, the fee is $85. Registration for certain types of works, including things like masks and vessel hull designs,  can only be filed in paper at this time. If you're curious about additional fees from the Copyright Office, see Circular 4 for more information.