Unless you can work out an out-of-court settlement, a suit for copyright infringement must be brought in federal court. In general, you have three years from the most recent infringement to bring a suit in court. In addition, your copyright must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
A defendant in a copyright action can claim that the defendant created the work independently, or that the alleged infringement consisted of sections which are not copyrightable (such as facts or news). In addition, a defendant can claim that he or she is making fair use of the work, which includes criticism, comment, parody, news, research and scholarship. However, there are strict legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words or musical notes. Rather, a court will examine a variety of factors, including whether the use was for profit, how much was copied, and the economic effect of the use.
Since 1989, a copyright symbol (©) has not been required in order to protect a copyright. However, it does put people on notice that your work is copyrighted and weakens any "innocent infringements." A person may use the "©" symbol even without registering the work with the U.S. Copyright Office.
In addition, the United States has copyright relations with more than 100 countries throughout the world. As a result of these agreement, a U.S. copyright is recognized and honored in most industrialized nations in the world.
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