Quote:
Originally Posted by Hellmark
While personally I do think the modern system of copyright automatically being applied when it is in a fixed form, some sort of registration would be nice. Something to where there is a central database that people can add their info to, so orphaned works would be less of a problem.
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Registration is still available, it's just not mandatory which, seeing as how there is a fee involved, is how it should be. It's still the preferred method of proving origin or ownership. It provides a verifiable paper trail.
You may have heard of "poor man's copyright" which involves mailing something to yourself? It's generally inconclusive in terms of proving first origin unless the other claimant has even shakier evidence, but it stems from the fact that it's cheaper than paying the registration fee. Though most people now know it's not the best method of creating a paper trail, it still happens.