Although copyright subsists automatically without any formal registration, an eligible person may still voluntarily notify the Registrar of the existence of a copyright work (section 26A of the Act). To do that, an applicant will have to file a copy of his copyright work with the Registrar. Once the copyright work has been recorded with the Registrar, the Registrar will issue an official certificate and such certificate is considered (good) prima facie evidence to prove his ownership of the copyright work and support any copyright infringement cases.

Generally, the author of a copyright work is the person who creates the work. For example, the writer of a book is the author, an artist who painted a painting is the author and a composer of a music is the author. Usually, the author of a work is also the copyright owner of the same work. The exceptions would be when the work was created in the course of employment or was the result of a commissioned work. In such situation, the owner would be the employer or the commissioner.

An author may decide to exploit the work by assigning the copyright in the work to another person, usually for some financial consideration. When that happens, the author relinquishes his economic rights over the work under copyright law. The new copyright owner will then enjoy the exclusive rights which are granted under the Act.