Building a SaaS product. Someone mentioned I should register copyright for my source code. Is that actually necessary? I thought copyright was automatic.
You're right that copyright exists automatically when you write code. But registration gives you two huge benefits:
1. You can sue for infringement (can't file lawsuit without registration)
2. You can get statutory damages ($30K-150K per work) and attorney fees if registered BEFORE infringement
Registration costs $65 and takes 3-6 months. Worth doing for your core codebase.
honest question: who's actually copying startup code? in 10 years I've never heard of anyone actually suing over copied SaaS code. seems like a solution looking for a problem
@PracticalDev it happens. I found a competitor literally copy-pasted my frontend code including my comments. couldn't do much because I hadn't registered. now I register everything important
Another reason to register: due diligence. If you ever sell your company or raise a proper Series A, investors will ask about IP ownership. Having registrations shows you took IP seriously. It's a "nice to have" that becomes "wish I had" later.
complication: if you use open source libraries (you probably do), you don't own copyright to those parts. only register what's actually yours. also make sure your contractors assigned their IP to you before you claim it
Good point about contractors. I'll add copyright registration to my "things to do once we have revenue" list. $65 seems worth it for the peace of mind.
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