Online copyright registration

We have tried to make the online copyright registration service as straightforward as possible, but we understand that it can seem daunting at first. If you have never registered your work online before, this guide aims to help you through the process.

This guide is intended to be read as you go through the process, so you may want to print this page so you can refer to it when you register.

Before you start

During registration you will be required to upload a copy of the work that you want to protect; so ensure that you have your files ready before you start.

If your work contains very large files, you have a lot of files to upload or have a slow Internet connection, you should also read our upload information page for advice.

When you are ready simply go to https://copyrightwitness.com/forms/register/online. The following explains the pages you will see and how to complete them.

1 Step 1: Your details

In step 1 you are asked to enter your contact details and agree to the terms of service.

1. Contact details

   This will be used as the contact details for your account, your registration documents will be sent to the person and address you enter here.

   If you are registering on behalf of someone else, you can still enter your details, this is simply the address for correspondence. You will be asked to supply the copyright owner name in step 2.

   Account number

   If you have used the service before, enter your Copyright Witness account number in the ‘Account number’ field. This will ensure that this new registration is linked to your existing account and will speed up processing.

   If you have never registered before, or simply can’t find your account number, just leave the account number field blank.

   Telephone and email address

   We ask for this so we can contact you quickly if we encounter any problems processing your application.

   A confirmation email will also be sent to the address you enter here when your application has been processed.

2. Declaration

   Once you have read and agree to the terms and conditions, simply tick the box to accept the terms and conditions.

   Clicking on the link terms and conditions will open the terms in a new tab/window.

When you have completed the form, please press the ‘Proceed to next step’ button at the bottom of the screen to proceed to step 2.

2 Step 2: Enter details of your work and upload files

In step 2 you first enter details about the work you want to register.

1. Copyright owner

   Here you should enter the name of the person(s) or organisation that is the copyright owner of the work (normally the creator or author of the work). This will appear on the registration certificate, so please enter this exactly as you want it to be shown on your certificate. This will normally be your name, unless you are registering on someone else’s behalf, or on behalf of an entity such as an incorporated company.

   For joint authorship, groups or collectives, this may be the name you use to identify your group.

   If you use a pseudonym or pen-name, please also include your real name, in the form ‘Real Name (‘Pen-name’)’.

2. Title of work

   The title of work is how you wish to refer to the item you are registering. Please enter this exactly as you want it to be shown on your registration certificate.

   If the work you want to register is a collection of items (i.e. a book of poems, a collection of photos, an album of musical songs, etc.), then you should simply enter a single collective title for the collection as a whole.

3. Additional information

   This field can be used to enter extra information to help you identify the items being deposited. What you enter here will be shown on the schedule that accompanies the registration certificate.

4. Duration of registration

   Select the registration period you require.

On this page, you can order paper certificates and sheets of registered notice labels if you require them by simply entering the quantity in the spaces provided.

Press ‘Add this work’ when you are ready to continue.

Now you are ready to upload any files you want to be included in the registration.

To upload files

You should now see a file upload area on the screen asking you to either "Drag and drop files", "Click to choose file" or "Select a folder" to upload.

You can either:

• Select the files or folders that you wish to upload in your computer's file manager and drag them to the file upload area.
  Tip: the area is active when it turns green, when it is green release your mouse button and the files will start to upload.
   
• Click in the upload area. This will open a file selection dialog allowing you to choose the file(s).
  Select the file(s) you want to upload and press ‘open’ or ‘ok’ (what is displayed will depend on your computer’s operating system).
  Tip: If using a mouse, you can select multiple files by using the ctrl or shift buttons whilst selecting the files.
   
• Click the "Select a folder to upload" link. This will open a file selection dialog allowing you to choose a folder to upload.

Files should automatically start to upload and when uploaded will be listed above the file upload area.

Repeat this for all the files or folders that you wish to upload.

Adding another work

If you want to register another work, press the ‘Show’ button in the section marked ‘Add another work’ to reveal an extra section of the form and repeat step 2 for that work.

To continue

Press the ‘Proceed to next step’ button at the bottom of the screen when you are ready to proceed to step 3.

3 Step 3: Confirm details

On this screen, you simply check that all the details are correct.

It will show your contact details, the work details and list all the files uploaded and their file sizes. If you need to correct anything, use the ‘Back’ button to go back to an earlier step.

If everything looks OK, press ‘Proceed to next step’ to proceed to step 4.

4 Step 4: Payment

On this screen you can see the registration details and total price of the registration.

Simply enter your payment card details and press the ‘Make Payment’ button at the bottom of the screen to make payment and complete your registration.

Your work is protected as soon as the payment is authorised.

Congratulations! Your work is now registered

On the screen you will see a confirmation page, including a transaction reference.

An email confirming the transaction will be sent to your email address. If the cardholder email address is different to the account holder’s, the cardholder will also be sent a receipt for the transaction by email.

Once one of our registration administrators has finalised processing, you will receive a further email confirming your registration and a PDF registration certificate and invoice/receipt.

Common questions

1. How much will registration cost?

   The current charges for online registration are £57.00 for 5 years or £95.00 for 10 years per work.

   You are also be able to order paper certificates at £2.50 each or sheets of registration labels at £2.50 per sheet (each sheet contains 84 labels) if required.

   All charges are in UK Pounds Sterling (GBP). All charges include VAT.

2. Is it possible to extend the registration period beyond 10 years?

   Yes. At the end of the registration period we will automatically contact you, and you will be offered the chance to extend the registration at a discounted rate. It is also possible to extend any registration with less than 5 years remaining using the online registration renewal form.

3. Is uploading secure?

   Yes. When you upload your files, it is over a highly encrypted channel (https) that directly connects your computer to one of our servers. Our servers are self hosted, so we do not rely on any third party to store or transmit your personal data.

4. Can I be sure my payment details are safe?

   Yes. We communicate to our payment service provider over highly secure 256bit encrypted direct connections. We are PCI-DSS compliant and do not store your card details. Our payment service providers are regularly audited by Visa and MasterCard to ensure that their systems conform to the latest security standards.

5. Is my work suitable for registration?

   Any work that copyright applies to can be registered, but if you are in any doubt, our self assessment will help you make a more informed choice.

6. Can I register names?

   No. As names are not copyright works, they should not be registered in their own right. It is however worth noting that a logo that combines the name with other artistic or design elements will be subject to copyright as an artistic work and can be registered.