• shuzuko@midwest.social
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    1 year ago

    did not actually file copyrights on their art with the U.S. Copyright Office.

    The way they’ve worded this isn’t really a sufficient explanation of how this works. An artist is automatically granted copyright upon the creation of a work, so it’s not that they don’t have the right to protect their work. It’s just that, without registration, you cannot file a lawsuit to protect your work.

    Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.

    https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html

    However, if it’s within 5 years of initial publication, they can still be granted a formal registered copyright and bring the complaint again.