Frequently Asked Questions

Find quick answers to the most common questions about our copyright services. Learn how to protect, manage, and upgrade your records with confidence.

No, Copyright Records is not a government agency. We are a private, independent service operating as an unincorporated association. Our role is to provide creators—whether individuals or businesses—with a secure online platform to record and document their copyrights.

We function as a private copyright recording service, giving authors a way to establish proof of ownership through time-stamped certificates and archived records. This documentation can be useful in legal disputes or as supporting evidence of authorship.

It’s important to note that while our service provides valid, internationally recognized proof of creation, we do not replace official government copyright offices. We are not affiliated with any government, we do not claim to be a government entity, and we will never make such a claim. Instead, we exist to complement official systems by offering an accessible, affordable, and practical tool for protecting your work.

Under international standards, a copyright typically lasts for the lifetime of the author plus 50 years (and in some countries, even longer). At Copyright Records, we place no time limit on how long your work is archived or published in our system. Once your copyright is registered with us, it remains permanently stored—with no renewal fees ever required, whether after 5 years or 50.

You also retain the right to transfer your copyright to another person, such as an heir, business partner, or buyer. (Administrative fees may apply for transfers.) For more details on transferring ownership, please contact us directly.

The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works is an international treaty first adopted in 1886. It establishes that creative works—such as books, music, art, films, and software—are automatically protected by copyright from the moment they are created, without the need for formal registration.

Today, more than 177 countries (including the United States, Canada, and most of Europe) are signatories. This means that when your work is protected in one member country, it is also protected in all the others. The Berne Convention creates a unified global standard, ensuring that authors and creators enjoy international recognition of their rights.

Any documents or versions you submit within the first 30 days are archived in our system (unless you choose to delete them). This means the earliest version always serves as proof of priority and authorship, even if later corrections or updates are made. The ability to modify is provided only to correct or update details, but your original submission remains securely stored as the authoritative record.

No, we cannot represent you or defend you in court, as we are not a law firm, we do not offer legal advice and are not involved in the legal proceedings of copyright cases. Our role is to provide time-stamped certificates and a permanent record of your work that can serve as supporting evidence of ownership.

For added weight in legal contexts, we also offer optional services such as notarization of documents and delivery by USPS Certified or Registered Mail. These measures provide additional credibility and can strengthen your case, but it is important to understand that we do not guarantee outcomes in court. Our mission is to equip you with the best possible tools to demonstrate your authorship and protect your rights.

At this time, no—you cannot upload full documents directly into our system. Currently, our service is focused on recording the names of works, titles, business documents, and similar identifiers.

However, we are actively developing a feature that will allow creators to upload and securely store their documents under a monthly or annual membership plan. This will give you the ability to register and archive multiple works for a fixed price.

We’ll keep our users updated as this feature becomes available. For now, Copyright Records remains a reliable way to record and protect your work titles and essential information.

In addition to our standard online copyright certificates, Copyright Records offers U.S. residents the option to request an Affidavit of Copyright sent through Certified Mail or Registered Mail. While we do not provide legal advice and cannot guarantee court outcomes, these mailing options can add an extra layer of credibility and documentation.

Each affidavit package includes:

  • A formal Affidavit of Copyright prepared and signed by the President of Copyright Records

  • Mailing via USPS Certified Mail or Registered Mail (your choice)

  • USPS time-stamping and tracking numbers, which serve as additional proof of date and delivery

  • An optional PS 3811 signature receipt for even stronger evidence

  • A physical copyright certificate printed on premium bond paper with our official gold seal

Envelope Capacity:
Each envelope can contain up to 25 certificates. You don’t have to purchase 25 at once—any number up to 25 will be grouped together in one mailing.

This service is designed to give you an extra level of assurance by combining our official certificates with USPS tracking and documentation, providing multiple layers of time-stamped evidence.

Our Premium Certificate Package provides you with a physical, original certificate, signed in wet ink by the President of Copyright Records and notarized by a licensed notary public. Each certificate is printed on bond paper with our gold seal and the acknowledgment seal of the notary public, then mailed to you via USPS Certified or Registered Mail. This serves as supplemental evidence of your private copyright.

Each package also includes 1 credit toward a copyright registration. For example, if you have not already purchased a standard digital copyright, you can use this credit to register one work, and we will then issue and mail your notarized, embossed certificate.

If you own multiple copyrights, please note that each Premium Certificate can list up to 25 individual copyrights. For instance, if you have 30 digital certificates with us, you would need to purchase 2 Premium Certificate Packages to cover all 30 works.

Under international copyright law, the mere presence of a copyright notice can establish authorship. However, in practice, creators are far more confident defending their rights when they can present time-stamped documents and evidence verified by a neutral third party. That is exactly what Copyright Records provides.

By receiving, archiving, and certifying your copyright declarations, we act as a third-party witness to the existence of your work on a specific date. Our certificates include a unique copyright number, permanent URL, and digital seal, giving you verifiable proof of authorship should your rights ever be challenged. For added strength, we also offer notarized certificates and USPS Certified or Registered Mail options (additional fees may apply).

In court, what matters most is what is verifiable, demonstrable, and practical. Copyright disputes are complex, and attorneys on both sides explore every possible angle. Having clear, independently documented evidence can make all the difference. Our role is to provide that clarity by maintaining secure, unaltered archives of your work, showing its state at the exact date and time it was registered with us.

This ensures that if someone falsely claims authorship, you can demonstrate that your work was deposited and certified by Copyright Records long before they had access to it. Our mission is to deliver one of the most secure and straightforward archiving systems available, so you can focus on your creative work while we safeguard your proof of ownership.

When you choose to delete your copyright, it will be permanently removed from our system. The associated QR code and URL will no longer function and will redirect to a 404 error page. This action is irreversible, as we honor and respect our customers’ wishes. You will still retain your copyright certificate, whether you ordered a digital copy or a physical copy through USPS mail, but the online record and code will not remain valid. If you would like to protect the same work again in the future, you may re-purchase a new copyright record.

The Law About CopyrightRecords.com

Absolutely not. A patent is a patent, and a trademark is a trademark. Each serves a very specific purpose that copyright cannot replace.

Patent
Many users register the copyright of their documentation with CopyrightRecords.com, including diagrams, sketches, photos, and written methodologies connected to their projects or inventions. This helps establish proof of authorship and can circulate their ideas quickly, even before pursuing a formal patent. They may also include their copyright registration number in their documents for added credibility. However, this does not replace the need for a patent, which is the only legal protection for an invention itself.

Trademark
The same applies to trademarks. Copyright is not a trademark registration. What it can do is provide proof of authorship for related materials, such as brand guidelines, designs, or documents connected to a trademark project. But the trademark itself still requires its own registration process.

Remember, copyright does not create new rights—it only confirms and protects existing rights of the author over their work. If you intend to protect a name, logo, idea, or invention, you must use the correct type of registration (patent or trademark). Copyright is only relevant for creative works such as writings, images, software, music, and similar creations.

Note: CopyrightRecords.com is a copyright registration and publishing service. It is not a substitute for professional legal advice in intellectual property matters.

Under the Berne Convention, signed by over 170 countries, an author is not required to register their copyright to have legal protection—copyright exists automatically upon creation. However, some countries do offer official copyright registration services that maintain archives of registered works.

CopyrightRecords.com provides an affordable, fast, and easy way to register and publish your copyright online (unless the work is confidential). This service helps secure your material in a verifiable archive, which can be very useful as proof of authorship.

Note for U.S. users: To take a copyright case to court in the United States, registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is required. Fortunately, most disputes are resolved without court intervention, as potential infringers typically avoid legal risks when the copyright is clearly documented.

Our service is recognized in most countries—over 177 in fact—which are signatories of the Berne Convention. New countries are added regularly (you can check the latest list on WIPO’s website).

The validity of our service is supported by international legal provisions governing data and information exchanges over the Internet between individuals, companies, and countries. Canada, for example, has been recognized as providing data protection equivalent to the European EC Directive 95/46.

While the main users of our service are in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, and the United States, our service is not limited to these countries and can be used globally.

Copyright generally lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years, depending on your country’s laws.

With CopyrightRecords.com, there is no limit on archiving or publishing your copyrighted work, and you never have to pay renewal fees—ever. You also have the option to transfer your rights to someone else (additional fees may apply).

For more details on transfers or other services, please contact us.

While simply writing “copyright” on a work provides some notice, authors are much better protected when they can rely on verifiable documentation and a third-party witness. This is exactly what CopyrightRecords.com provides.

We receive, archive, and prepare copyright declarations and related documents, creating a record of your work on a specific date. Our experience shows that having a trusted third-party witness significantly strengthens an author’s position in disputes.

In legal proceedings, what matters most is verifiable, demonstrable, and practical evidence. Our documents are carefully prepared to meet what courts expect and can be signed by a CopyrightRecords.com officer—similar to a notary or court official if requested (additional fees may apply).

CopyrightRecords.com securely archives your submissions to demonstrate the state of your work at a specific date and time, long before any potential infringer could access it. During the first 30 days of archiving, authors can still make modifications or additions. After that, the files are locked to preserve their integrity.

Our secure archiving system is designed to reduce the need for technical demonstrations in court. While authors may have practical access to their files, our primary mission is to ensure maximum security and credibility for your work. This thorough approach provides the clearest and most effective defense if your rights are ever challenged.

CopyrightRecords.com Services

If you ever need to use your documents to prove your copyright in court, they can be signed by a CopyrightRecords.com officer before delivery (fees may apply, e.g., shipping). These documents are designed to support your legal defense.

Security and Access:

  • Proofs of your creations stored in our archives are not accessible online, not even to the author. You can only see the names and dates of the archived documents.

  • Material is only extracted to serve as legal proof, ensuring no one can claim modifications were made after archiving.

  • Physical mail submissions are not accepted, as this would increase costs and impact our pricing.

Legal Support:

  • If needed, we can engage a notary or usher to prepare specific legal documents, though this is rarely necessary.

Archiving and Publication:

  • Our strict security procedures protect your documents.

  • We publish a large number of copyrights online to make works publicly known, which adds an extra layer of protection.

  • We manage website ads carefully to ensure your copyrighted works are visible and not lost in clutter.

Privacy and Independence:

  • We maintain a rigorous confidentiality policy; no information about users or their creations is shared under any circumstances.

  • We do not accept partnerships, exchanges, or business proposals, to stay fully focused on our mission.

Payments:

  • In case of double payment via our online system, contact us through our form and the extra payment will be canceled within 24 hours.

Do I need to register every single creation?”

Answer:
Not necessarily. With CopyrightRecords.com, your copyright owner identification number allows you to appear as the copyright owner for all your creations, even those you don’t formally register.

While registering each work offers stronger protection, this system lets you:

  • Avoid additional costs for less critical creations.

  • Show potential infringers that your unregistered works are still protected.

  • Demonstrate ongoing authorship and activity in protecting your rights.

Thieves tend to target easier opportunities. By using your permanent copyright owner ID on all your works, you discourage copying and signal that even unregistered creations are actively protected.

The price of registering a copyright with CopyrightRecords.com depends on your currency:

  • Euro: €12.50

  • Canadian Dollar: $17.75

  • US Dollar: $17.75

  • Pound Sterling: £10.50

Payments can be made easily through your user profile.

No, registration is entirely optional. Your copyrights always belong to you, and our service does not create new rights. What we provide is a way to register and archive your works permanently, with no additional fees, so you can defend yourself against unauthorized use.

By registering with CopyrightRecords.com, you become the first to officially document your creation, which can be critical when thieves falsely claim authorship.

We have been registering, archiving, and storing creations and proofs of authorship since 2000, and we publish the largest number of copyrights online (publicly visible, with sensitive details kept confidential).

Our team is the most experienced on the web in copyright registration, ensuring that your work is archived effectively for potential court use. Third-party verification by a CopyrightRecords.com officer provides a strong, practical legal proof.

Additionally, after the 30-day correction period, copyrights cannot be modified. This prevents potential infringers from claiming your work as theirs or alleging that you copied theirs.

HOW IT WORKS

  • Copyrights registered before September 1, 2016: You can still find them in our archives.

  • Copyrights registered after September 1, 2016: Once you register a new copyright, your account allows you to list and manage your previous copyrights.

Please note that some features, such as tracking files in secured archives, are only available for copyrights registered under the new system.

Long-time users will notice that the new CopyrightRecords.com website allows you to create an author’s file and manage your copyrights personally.

With your new account, you gain access to several advantages:

  • All your previous copyrights can be found and grouped in one place.

  • Improved organization and accessibility for easier management.

  • All the efficiency of the old system, plus enhanced functionalities for tracking and handling your works.

This new system makes it easier than ever to manage, secure, and navigate your registered creations.

Technology evolves rapidly, and the field of copyright protection is no exception. The new CopyrightRecords.com website was developed to provide authors with advanced tools and services not available elsewhere.

With your account, you can:

  • Visually view and manage all your archived copyrights without affecting their legal validity.

  • Enjoy numerous additional advantages designed to simplify copyright management and enhance protection.

This new system ensures you have modern, efficient, and secure ways to manage and safeguard your creative works.

  1. Create Your Account: Set up a confidential user profile.

  2. Register Your Work: As soon as you create something—texts, images, sounds, or other works—you can register it by providing its title, subject, and a short description (which can be public).

If you have multiple files—texts, images, or other materials—you can group them into a single compressed file (ZIP or RAR). This saves storage space and makes it easier to send your creations.

For Windows Users:

Method 1 (simplest):

  1. Right-click one of your creation files.

  2. Choose Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder.

  3. Your file is now compressed. You can add other files by copy/paste.

Method 2:

  1. Click START → Right-click → Explore.

  2. Find your folder, right-click inside it → New → Compressed (zipped) folder.

  3. Add your creation files to the compressed folder.

For Mac Users:

  1. Locate the files you want to compress.

  2. Go to the File menu (upper-left corner) → Compress files.

  3. Your compressed ZIP file is created and ready to send.

Compressed files are easy to store, share, and submit when registering your creations with CopyrightRecords.com.

We do not provide phone support to help reduce operational costs and keep our services affordable. These savings allow us to offer low-cost solutions to our users. Our online support is fast, reliable, and efficient, delivering clear answers to all user questions. If you can’t find the information you need, please use the contact form on our Contact Us page.

Many authors and creators choose to remain anonymous. You only need to provide your pseudonym on the copyright declaration form to ensure your anonymity. Your real information is kept private in our records, and your certificate is just as valid as if it displayed your real name.

You can also request that details such as your city, co-authors’ names, the title of your work, and its description remain confidential. These details will not appear publicly.

If a legal situation arises where you need to defend your rights, we can provide the original records containing your real contact information.

We do not publish texts or other works publicly, as this could lead to misunderstandings. All creations are securely archived and remain inaccessible on the web. In the copyright registration form, you can use the description field to provide a summary of your work.

Many people often ask us this question. However, it is unrealistic for us to monitor your daily activities, review witnesses, or otherwise verify that you are the true author of a work.

You can technically register a copyright on any work, even something like the US Constitution or the Bible. In such cases, the registration serves only as proof that you claimed authorship, regardless of whether it is true.

Be aware: if you falsely claim authorship of someone else’s work, your registration will only show that you made a false declaration, which provides no legal benefit.

For this reason, it is highly recommended to keep detailed records of the creation process, such as drafts, original images, song components, programming code, or other materials that only you possess. These can serve as evidence in a court of law if needed.

CopyrightRecords.com does not verify or take responsibility for the content of copyright declarations. Users are solely responsible for the accuracy and truthfulness of their submissions.

We respond within 48 hours on business days. After submitting a message through our contact form, you will receive a confirmation email. Please check your inbox, and if you don’t see it, be sure to check your Spam folder.

We do not provide temporary archiving, and files are only released in a legal context—when a legal process against an infringer is underway and we have the official notice.

In exceptional cases, if no other option is possible, we may extract a file and send it to you. This requires identity verification by a CopyrightRecords.com officer. We will also provide clear guidance on the legal implications of this extraction.

Certain conditions and fees may apply.

This number provides easy access to your copyright certificate online using our search engine. It allows you to prove that your work was registered on a specific date and time, serving as public evidence of your ownership—beyond just a simple mention within your creation. Unless you choose a confidential copyright, your registration is posted on your personal web page, and only you can request its removal.

To obtain a numbered seal, first create a free account or log in. Then complete the registration form and payment. Afterward, you can get the HTML code by clicking on the seal logo in your copyright list.

Seals are commonly found in books, printed materials, school resources, designer clothing, and more worldwide.

If the seal’s appearance (color, size, etc.) doesn’t match your website or creation, you can simply display it as: ‘CopyrightRecords.com XXXXXXXX’, where the number corresponds to your registered copyright.