"until you have registered your claim, no one is under any legal obligation to pay you a licensing fee or royalties"
I don't think that 's right, even in the USA. An unathorised use would still be an infringment. However I think there are some restrictions on the damages that can be recovered in the case of "innocent infringment". In most cases publication with the typical US "copyright notice" would prevent an infringment being "innocent".