How are copyright and related rights regulated?

Copyright and related rights protection is obtained automatically without the need for registration or other formalities. However, many countries provide for a national system of optional registration and deposit of works. These systems facilitate, for example, questions involving disputes over ownership or creation, financial transactions, sales, assignments, and transfer of rights. Many authors and performers do not have the ability or means to pursue the legal and administrative enforcement of their copyright and related rights, especially given the increasingly global use of literary, music, and performance rights. As a result, the establishment and enhancement of collective management organizations (CMOs), or “societies”, is a growing and necessary trend in many countries. These societies can provide their members with efficient administrative support and legal expertise in, for example, collecting, managing, and disbursing royalties gained from the national and international use of a work or performance. Certain rights of producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations are sometimes managed collectively as well.