Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP has an extensive practice in the protection of copyrightable works under the federal copyright laws. Copyright protection extends to very diverse subject matter, such as computer software, works of art, audio-visual works, architectural works and literary works. Protection under the U.S. copyright law arises immediately upon creation and "fixation" of the work in physical form. Registration of the copyright provides substantial statutory advantages, such as the right to recover statutory damages and lawyers' fees in the event litigation is necessary to enforce the copyright. Indeed, in many cases, such registration is a prerequisite to infringement litigation.

For many copyrightable works, registration is straightforward, and the firm often assists its clients in setting up an in-house registration procedure. For other works, complicated issues involving ownership, publication and derivative works require that the firm's copyright specialists prepare and file the application for registration. In litigation matters, the firm can obtain an expedited copyright registration in a matter of days.

The firm's services include advising clients on copyright ownership issues, seeking federal registrations for copyrightable works, counseling clients on how to develop and reverse engineer computer programs without infringing the rights of others, advising clients on the use of "open source" code and copyright litigation and licensing. The firm also frequently negotiates and prepares agreements to resolve controversies involving copyright ownership and infringement.

In addition, the firm counsels Web site operators on their rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other copyright laws.

The firm has substantial copyright litigation expertise, both in enforcing and defending copyright infringement claims.

Representative Clients

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