SUPREMES SAY COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION REQUIRED PRIOR TO FILING SUIT

On March 4, 2019, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion that basically changed the long-standing practice of a plaintiff needing only to apply for copyright registration prior to bringing a copyright infringement lawsuit. Justice Ginsburg, writing for a unanimous court, said the law requires a litigant to have an issued registration, or a rejected application, subject to certain limited exceptions.  Prior to this ruling, many litigators only filed an application for copyright registration prior to filing a copyright infringement lawsuit.  However, the Supreme Court clarified the law, and made it clear that a copyright owner must have an issued registration or a refusal to register from the Copyright Office.

There are some exceptions. Such as “preregistration” for works that are particularly vulnerable to predistribution infringement, such as movies or musical compositions.  Once a work is “preregistered” the owner may bring suit.

The decision can be read here.

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