A: Article 10 of the Copyright Act provides, "The author (creator) of a work shall enjoy copyright upon completion of the work; provided, where this Act provides otherwise, such provisions shall govern." That is to say, a creator enjoys copyrights as soon as he or she has completed a work. Registration is not required.

Copyrights are private rights. Copyright owners, like owners of other private rights in general, bear the burden of proof of the existence of their rights. Therefore, copyright owners should preserve and keep materials from the creative process or release of a work or other materials relating to their rights to a work, to serve as evidence of their rights. That way, if a dispute ever arises over the private rights, a court of law can use such evidence submitted by the rights owner as a basis to uphold the rights.