Copyright Registration

To obtain copyrights, formal registration is not required. The maker or his/her employer automatically obtains this right, provided the "work" meets certain legal criteria. But if someone infringes the copyright of your product, you must be able to demonstrate that you are entitled to the rights.

 

Obviously, you can document the product development internally. That, however, requires discipline and time. In addition, internal documentation by definition is disputable. Escrow Europe's Copyright Registration Service offers indisputable proof of your copyrights. We make a unique fingerprint of your product and timestamp that fingerprint with an on-line notary. Finally, Escrow Europe stores the data in its secured vaults, to be retrieved and matched with the fingerprint whenever necessary.

 

Secure your know-how

By registering your products with Escrow Europe, you not only document your copyrights, but also protect the integrity of your company's know-how. It discourages copyright infringement by (former) employees or freelancers. And should you, as part of a co-operative partnership be obliged to offer your partners access to sensitive company information, you can prevent abuse of this access from going unpunished at a later time.

Last but not least, should you ever want to sell your company, it probably will be vital to the prospective buyer that you can prove or at least document the ownership of the software copyrights.

 

The Copyright Registration Service safeguards your know-how:

 

1. Proof of ownership/copyright
It provides a sound and demonstrable audit trail that can be presented to a court as evidence that you created the product when you said you did.

 

2. Back-up of know-how
Know-how, probably the most precious asset of your company, is regularly stored. If employees leave your company, their "works" remain accessible to you.

 

3. Discourages infringement
Copyright registration works preventive, certainly towards (former) employees.

 

4. Risk limitation joint ventures/cooperative agreements
In setting up JVC's or cooperative agreements one often has to exchange very confidential proprietary information. Prior registration prevents misuse at a later stage.

 

5. Integrity of copyright in case of freelance workers
To acquire copyright on the work of free-lancers who work on your project, you need a written statement from them that they transfer their copyright to you. By registering their output you close the circle - they cannot claim (partial) rights at a later stage.