{"id":1228,"date":"2019-03-05T20:15:06","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T20:15:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/copyright-registration-required-to-sue-the-supreme-court-clarifies\/"},"modified":"2019-03-05T20:15:06","modified_gmt":"2019-03-05T20:15:06","slug":"copyright-registration-required-to-sue-the-supreme-court-clarifies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/copyright-registration-required-to-sue-the-supreme-court-clarifies\/","title":{"rendered":"Copyright Registration Required to Sue? The Supreme Court Clarifies"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Law is Clarified <\/strong><\/p>\n

Registration of a copyright<\/a> must be completed before suing for infringement.\u00a0 This was the recent unanimous ruling of U.S. Supreme Court. The high court\u2019s ruling in \u00a0Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al.<\/a><\/em><\/span> resolves a long-running question in copyright litigation: when exactly can a copyright lawsuit commence? \u00a0<\/p>\n

Previously, there was a spilt in the U.S. Circuit Courts, with some circuits following the \u201capplication approach\u201d where legal action could commence upon submission of the application for registration and other circuits following the \u201cregistration approach\u201d where legal action could commence only upon completion and actual registration of the copyright.\u00a0 The high court definitively resolved this question in favor of the \u201cregistration approach\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Ruling Explained<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the case, Fourth Estate, an independent news organization, licensed its content to Wall-Street.com.\u00a0 When Wall-Street.com terminated the arrangement but allegedly failed to remove Fourth Estate\u2019s articles from its website, Fourth Estate filed suit after applying for copyright registration but before completion of the registration process.\u00a0 Following the \u201cregistration approach\u201d, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the lawsuit, noting that \u201cfiling an application does not amount to registration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court agreed with the Eleventh Circuit\u2019s decision.\u00a0 In the opinion written by Justice Ginsburg, the court concluded that the \u201cregistration approach\u201d is \u201cthe only satisfactory reading\u201d of the relevant section of the Copyright Act. Justice Ginsburg noted that Congress previously considered but declined to adopt a proposal to allow the filing of a lawsuit immediately upon submission of the application.<\/p>\n

The Significance of the Ruling<\/strong><\/p>\n

This decision is significant for a number of reasons.\u00a0 Perhaps most significantly, it provides clarity to a long-unsettled dispute in copyright litigation.\u00a0 It also raises concerns over delays in a copyright owner\u2019s ability to immediately file suit upon discovery of an infringement and the submission of an application for registration.\u00a0 This is particularly so given that copyright registration processing times have increased from weeks to months over the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Justice Ginsberg acknowledged the concern over delays but stated that such delays appear to be due to \u201cstaffing and budgetary shortages that Congress can alleviate, but courts cannot cure.\u201d\u00a0 That concern does not allow the court to revise \u201ccongressionally composed text.\u201d<\/p>\n

This decision also serves as a reminder of the importance of registering a copyright protected work as early as possible.\u00a0 In addition to now being a prerequisite to filing an infringement action in all jurisdictions, registration confers a number of benefits on the owner:<\/p>\n