When a dispute arises over copyright, determining who is the legal owner of the work is often the core and most difficult issue. In that context, the Copyright Registration Certificate is considered one of the important legal bases to help strengthen the argument and prove the rights of the author and owner. To understand the legal value of the Certificate, the following article of VCD will help you.
What is a Copyright Registration Certificate?
Copyright is the right of an organization or individual to a work they create or own.
A Copyright Registration Certificate is a document issued by the Copyright Office to officially record the rights of an individual or organization to a work. The document fully shows information such as the name of the work, type of work, author, owner and the time of issuance of the certificate. Although copyright arises automatically when a work is created, the Certificate still acts as a clear legal establishment, helping the owner easily prove the rights when it is necessary to protect or exploit the value of the work.
When there is a dispute, how is the legal value of the Copyright Registration Certificate reflected?
The Certificate is implicit evidence in determining the author and owner.
The first and most important legal value of the Copyright Certificate is that it is considered prima facie evidence of the author, owner and the time of establishing the rights. In case of a dispute, the prosecuting agencies will automatically consider the information recorded in the Certificate to be correct, unless there is convincing evidence to the contrary. This significantly reduces the burden of proof for the right holder, because they do not have to collect or provide much evidence of the creative process or preserve the original manuscript; simply presenting the Certificate can establish a strong enough legal basis to protect rights.
The Certificate shifts the burden of proof to the disputing party.
As an implicit evidence, the Certificate has an important legal consequence: the burden of proof is shifted to the party accused of infringing or denying the right. If an individual or organization is accused of copying or using a work without permission, they are forced to present evidence against the legality of the Certificate, for example, proving that they created it first or that the certificate was issued incorrectly. Meanwhile, the owner does not need to prove his/her rights from the beginning. This mechanism of shifting the burden of proof helps the dispute resolution process to be quick, effective and minimizes risks for the right holder.
The Certificate is the basis for applying measures to protect rights and commercial exploitation.
The Certificate is also an important legal basis for competent authorities to apply measures to protect copyright. In cases of infringement, presenting the Certificate helps the Inspector, Police or Court have sufficient grounds to decide to suspend the infringement, seize infringing goods or request compensation for damages according to the law. In addition, the Certificate also plays an important role in commercial activities, because transactions of transferring, licensing or valuing intellectual property always require evidence to confirm rights. Thanks to the Certificate, the owner can easily demonstrate legal status, thereby creating convenience in signing contracts, investment cooperation or exploiting the economic value of the work.
Why should you register copyright to be granted a Certificate?
Although the law does not require registration to generate copyright, registration and being granted a Certificate are necessary in terms of protecting and exploiting rights. In practice, many disputes arise due to the difficulty in determining who is the copyright owner, the time of creation or the scope of use of the work. The certificate, with its legal value recognized by the State, helps the owner proactively protect the rights from the beginning, limiting the risk of copying or appropriating the work.
At the same time, it also creates an important legal foundation for commercial exploitation transactions such as transfer, licensing, valuation or capital mobilization. For works of high economic value such as logos, software, creative designs, advertising materials or works of art, copyright registration is almost the optimal solution to protect the long-term interests of individuals and businesses.
Above is the article “When there is a dispute, how is the legal value of the Copyright Registration Certificate reflected?” that VCD sent to you. We hope this article is useful to you.
A Copyright Registration Certificate is considered evidence establishing ownership of a work, showing that the State has recognized the author or owner as the information on the paper. In the process of resolving a dispute, the certificate helps create an advantage of proof, is considered the initial legal basis to determine rights, thereby forcing the other disputing party to provide stronger evidence if they want to refute.
A certificate is not a factor that “naturally wins the lawsuit”, but it is the strongest evidence and has legal presumption value regarding copyright. Thanks to that, the dispute resolution agency often prioritizes reviewing the information on the certificate, helping to shorten the processing time and increase the ability to protect the rights of the author and owner.