Unlike government-issued copyright registrations, a private copyright is administered and documented through a private trust or faith-based association. Specifically, our organization is a 508(c)(1)(a) unincorporated faith-based association and operates independently of state or federal corporate systems. Accordingly, we are not a government agency nor a corporate entity; instead, we function as a private record-keeping body that recognizes, documents, and issues authorship and copyright certificates based on the long-standing lawful and equitable principle of “first in time, first in right.”

Although we are a religious, faith-based organization, our website provides certificates that serve as evidence of original authorship and creation. Importantly, under both the Berne Convention Treaty and international copyright law, creative work is protected the moment it is created. Therefore, writing, designing, filming, or otherwise documenting a work establishes copyright automatically. In this context, our certificates serve as independent proof of that authorship—including secure timestamps, QR codes, and permanent recording in our online registry.

For maximum legal strength, we recommend printing your Certificate of Copyright or Recorded Document Certificate and having the face of the document notarized. In practice, a notary public is a public officer under common law, acting as a deputy of the Secretary of State, and their acknowledgment provides an additional layer of authenticity and public verification. When paired with your private copyright certificate, this combination serves as compelling proof of authorship and first use, thereby offering strong protection in the event of a legal dispute.

Ultimately, by choosing our Illinois copyright registry, you retain complete control over your intellectual property. Rather than submitting your work into a government-administered system, you are recording it through our 508(c)(1)(a) unincorporated faith-based association, preserving both autonomy and documented proof.