I’ve written a lot on the importance of registering your copyrights and, no, this won’t be another nag on that topic. Instead, I want to talk about something you aren’t required to do when you register, but which would be potentially very helpful down the line: make copies of your deposit copy uploads.
Often, an infringement defendant will demand proof that the work was submitted to the USCO as a deposit copy in the registration cited. Now, it’s not the plaintiff’s responsibility to provide that proof[1], particularly if the registration is before or within 5 years of the first publication of the work, but it does help shut up a defendant if you can whip out screenshots of your upload pages along with the works so that they can see, yup, that work was indeed included in the deposit copies submitted to the USCO.
Keeping a folder of everything you submit to the USCO for a registration is a great idea, and if you aren’t doing that yet, start. I suggest you keep copies of the titles list (for group registrations), the actual files submitted, any correspondence you get from the USCO (or send in reply), etc. When you get your certificate, make a scan of it and include the whole thing in that folder, too. Making screenshots of things like the upload page(s) and confirmation(s) takes little time but completes that folder[2]. Then, when the infringer tried its “prove the work is in there” you can not only show the list of title names on the certificate, you can show the work as it was submitted. That’ll shut ’em up… at least on that point.
Basically, the idea is to take away as many of the BS defenses defendants try to assert whenever they’re caught ripping off work. For example, use a proper copyright notice on or adjacent to each work you publish on your website and then no one can claim “innocent infringement” (more on that, here). This “is it in the registration” issue can be a big block with some defendants; removing their ability to claim the work isn’t part of a cited registration can significantly help move negotiations forward.
The more evidence you have to support your claims, the more likely your attorney will be able to negotiate a good settlement for you, so it’s worth the minor effort to make those copies, even if it isn’t your legal responsibility to do so.
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[1] This point was again made in the recent Iantosca v Elie Tahari, Ltd. No. 19-CV-04527 (MKV), 2020 WL 5603538 (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 18, 2020) where the court noted “It is the Defendant’s obligation, during discovery, to contact the USCO and request deposit copies to be used to rebut the validity of the copyright registration.”
[2] Remember, when you make the screenshots, the metadata about their creation date, etc., will be in those screenshot files, too. More handy proof in case they try to claim you created the screenshot, nefariously, later (and yes, they might).