Copyright Attorney in Houston

Intellectual Property

Register before there is a problem.

Copyright exists the moment an original work is fixed in a tangible medium — no registration required. But a United States copyright owner generally must register before filing an infringement suit, and registration made before the infringement began (or within a short window after publication) is what unlocks statutory damages and attorney's fees. Without it, a claimant is limited to actual damages, which are often small enough to make enforcement uneconomic. Registration is inexpensive; the difference in leverage is enormous.

What copyright covers

Written work: articles, books, scripts, manuals, marketing copy and website text.
Photographs, artwork, illustrations, graphic design and architectural drawings.
Product photography and branding assets.
Music and sound recordings, films, video and visual media.
Social media content, which is protected on the same terms as anything else.
Software and source code.
Compilations and databases, to the extent of original selection and arrangement.

It does not cover ideas, facts, procedures, titles, short phrases or typefaces. Those are the province of trademark, patent or trade secret law, or of nothing at all.

Who owns it

The author, ordinarily. Work created by an employee within the scope of employment belongs to the employer as a work made for hire. Work created by an independent contractor does not — it belongs to the contractor unless there is a written assignment, or it falls within one of the narrow statutory categories and is agreed in writing to be a work made for hire. This single rule accounts for a large share of the ownership disputes we see over logos, photographs, websites and code.

What registration actually gives you

The ability to file an infringement suit in federal court — generally a prerequisite rather than an option.
Eligibility for statutory damages and attorney's fees, where the registration came early enough. This is what makes small infringements worth pursuing at all.
An official public record of ownership, with a date attached, which resolves most disputes before they start.
A far stronger position against unauthorised reproduction and distribution, online and off.

How a registration is handled

Evaluating whether the work is eligible and what exactly is being claimed. Preparing the correct application for the type of work — a photograph, a compilation, software and a screenplay are not filed the same way. Monitoring the application through examination, and handling correspondence or corrections if the office raises a question. Most refusals are procedural and answerable.

The agreements that decide ownership

Licensing agreements — what a client or platform may do with the work, for how long, and in what territory.
Distribution agreements and content sharing contracts.
Work-for-hire and assignment agreements, which are how a business actually comes to own what it paid for.
Collaboration agreements between co-authors, so that joint ownership is decided in advance rather than argued about later.

If you are the one accused

Being on the receiving end of an infringement demand is a defensible position, not a verdict. There is a defence where the use was fair — transformative use, commentary or criticism, news reporting, teaching and other educational use are the categories courts weigh, alongside how much was taken and the effect on the market. There are also defences of independent creation, an existing licence, and the plain limits of what the claimant actually registered. Where the material is hosted online, a counter-notice may be the right response to an overreaching takedown.

Enforcement, and being on the receiving end

DMCA takedown notices for material hosted online, demand letters, licensing negotiations, and infringement suits in federal court where the conduct justifies it. Where infringement is repeated or widespread, monitoring matters as much as any single action. If you have received a demand — commonly over an image used on a website — do not ignore it and do not simply delete the image and hope. The amount demanded is frequently negotiable.

Common questions

Do I need to register to own a copyright?

No, ownership is automatic once the work is fixed. Registration is what lets you enforce it properly.

Why does the timing of registration matter?

Registering before an infringement, or promptly after publication, is what unlocks statutory damages and fee recovery. Without it, enforcement is often uneconomic.

What does copyright cover?

Original creative work fixed in a tangible form: writing, photographs, design, music, video and software.

What does it not cover?

Ideas, facts, procedures, titles and short phrases. Those belong to trademark, patent or trade secret law, or to nobody.

Who owns work created by an employee?

The employer, where it was created within the scope of employment. Contractors are the opposite unless there is a written assignment.

Is crediting the source enough?

No. Attribution is not permission. Using someone's work without a licence infringes regardless of whether you named them.

What is fair use?

A defence weighing the purpose, the nature of the work, how much was used and the effect on the market. It is fact-specific and frequently misunderstood.

What is a DMCA takedown?

A notice to the platform hosting infringing material asking that it be removed. It is often faster and cheaper than litigation.

We received an infringement demand over an image.

Do not ignore it and do not just delete the image. There are defences, and what the claimant actually registered matters.

We paid a designer for our logo. Do we own it?

Only with a written assignment. It is the single most common ownership gap we see, and it is best fixed before you try to register the mark.

Copyright protection