I would generally say yes for simple registrations (unless you are not confident in your ability to navigate a website and upload a document) and no for more complicated registrations.  Unlike securing patent protection before the USPTO, dealing with the Copyright Office is generally much less difficult, less time consuming, and less costly.  If your resources are limited, and you are careful, following the prompts on https://www.copyright.gov is not an overly challenging task. 

While I constantly worked with other attorneys when securing patent protection for clients, I never once consulted another attorney when I was dealing with copyright registrations, and never once had a problem securing them.  Of course, this does not mean the process should be done hastily, or does not require an attorney in all situations.  All of the works I secured registrations on, for example, were single document literary works.  The process did not involve more than filling out some personal information, uploading the document, and paying a fee.  However, it should be noted that when the work is more complicated than a simple literary document, such as a film that includes music, script, and visual works, securing the registration will inevitably be more involved.  In these situations, consulting an attorney who is familiar with the process would likely be a wise idea.   

This article was authored by John P. Powers, and is intended to keep readers current on matters affecting intellectual property and is not intended to be legal advice. If you have any questions about its content, please leave a comment below.

©John P. Powers, 2021, all rights reserved.