Ninth Circuit: Filing copyright application sufficient to bring suit under Section 411(a) In a decision last week, the Ninth Circuit held the filing of an application for registration with the copyright office is sufficient to meet the requirement that a copyright be "registered" before suit is brought under 17 U.S.C. § 411(a). In the first circuit court decision on the subject since the Supreme Court's Reed Elsevier […] Continue Reading →
Supreme Court: Registration requirement of 411(a) not jurisdictional for copyright claims Today the Supreme Court decided Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick, a case regarding whether the registration requirement of 17 U.S.C. § 411(a) is jurisdictional or a claim processing rule. The Court held the requirement to be nonjurisdictional. The case involves a class action for copyright infringement by freelance journalists based on republication of works in […] Continue Reading →
U.S. Copyright Office begins online registration system today Today the U.S. Copyright Office will officially begin accepting registrations for some works online. The works that may be registered online are "basic claims" for literary, visual arts, and performing arts works (including motion pictures, sound recordings and single serials). A "basic claim," which is eligible for online registration must be one of: a single […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: No statutory damages for continuing infringement that began before registration In a decision last week, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's award of statutory damages for copyright infringement and affirmed the district court's default judgment award of attorney's fees for trademark infringement. The plaintiff's copyright registration had an effective date of approximately one month after the first act of infringement, and nearly two years […] Continue Reading →
Second Circuit: Copyright registration is a jurisdictional requirement Last week, the Second Circuit issued a decision addressing whether the registration requirement for bringing a copyright action was jurisdictional or merely a "claim processing" rule. The decision turned on whether the Supreme Court's decision in Eberhart v. United States reduced the class of "jurisdictional" statutes such that 17 U.S.C. § 411(a) should be considered […] Continue Reading →
First Circuit: Reconstruction of work does not meet deposit requirement for copyright registration Tuesday, the First Circuit issued a decision regarding the Copyright Act's requirement of submission of a "copy" of an original work along with the registration of the work in order for a plaintiff to bring suit in federal court. The court held, as an issue of first impression in the circuit, that the copy submitted […] Continue Reading →
Fourth Circuit affirms refusal of copyright registration: insufficient creativity The Fourth Circuit yesterday affirmed the denial of copyright registration to an individual who had adapted United States Census maps for use on his website. The only changes to the maps were the addition of colors, changing the typeface of the state abbreviations, and a change in layout for some of the state indications. The […] Continue Reading →