United States Supreme Court Ruling Requires Copyright Registration Prior to Lawsuit
Registration Requirement and Retroactive Protection
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of the United States held that once a registration of the copyright occurs, a copyright owner can recover for infringement. This is affirming Section 411(a) under the Copyright Act of 1976 (“Copyright Act”), which states a copyright registration is required before the copyright owner may file a lawsuit against any infringer(s). The case, Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street, further established that a “copyright owner can recover for infringement that occurred both before and after registration.” Thus, while individuals will no longer be able to immediately file a lawsuit upon filing a copyright application, they will still be able to enforce all rights that were violated before the registration was obtained.
Preregistration in Limited Circumstances
There are, however, limited circumstances in which an individual may sue before registration has been obtained, such as having “a work of a type vulnerable to predistribution infringement—notably a movie or musical composition.” Of course, the owner must still eventually register the work to continue with the claim of infringement, but the preregistration option will help aid those that have popular works that are prone to infringement.
Effects of the Ruling
Various lawsuits, where a copyright registration does not exist, have already been dropped. This includes artists who filed cases against Epic Games’ “Fortnite” for use of their dance moves in the online video game. Simple dance moves are difficult to copyright as choreography, so the chances that these artists will be able to obtain registration and refile their cases is low. One of the artists, Alfonso Ribeiro, the actor better known as Carlton on the sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air attempted to register his famous “Carlton” dance. His application was denied registration this past February because it was comprised of only three different movements and was deemed to lack a sufficient amount of authorship to qualify for copyright protection. The hurdle of copyright registration is not new, but it is now necessary to proceed with any infringement suits.
Ultimately, the ruling effectively weeds out cases that will not result in a copyright registration and will allow for decongestion of the courts.
Protect Your Work
In addition to the traditional copyrightable works, such as literary, musical, dramatic, and artistic works, you can receive copyright protection for websites, apparel designs, stylized logos, live webcasts, and video podcasts.
With this in mind, it is imperative you register your work as soon as possible to ensure that you can protect your rights in a timely manner, whether you wait the full registration period or decide to obtain a preregistration. As of late, copyright registrations have been taking months rather than weeks to process. However, the Copyright Office also has an option to expedite your application for an additional fee. Should you need assistance in filing your copyright application with the Copyright Office, contact The Myers Law Group.