Copyright

If the work you do involves capturing your original creative expressions into some type of medium, you likely have copyrightable works that are subject to potential infringment and would benefit from registration.

A copyright happens automatically when you take an original idea and fix it into a tangible medium. (I.e. song, book, painting, picture, play, etc.) Just putting your creative work into a format that can be enjoyed and shared with others, gives you rights to your creation and permits you to stop others form using it.

However, this begs the question, why would anyone register a copyright if they automatically have a copyright once their creation is complete? The answer is because if someone steals your work you can’t sue them in federal court unless the copyright is registered, and under federal law you may be able to recover your attorney’s fees from the infringer.