Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Insights: Copyright Registration Before An Infringement Lawsuit
For our contribution to our Insights and Opinions section today, we have a legal update from Kevin DeBré of Stubbs Alderton and Markiles LLP, on a recent change in copyright law.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court made clear what has been a gray area of copyright law – copyright owners must register their work with the U.S. Copyright Office before suing for copyright infringement. Previously, courts in some circuits (including the Ninth Circuit) permitted infringement suits to go forward before registration while applications were pending.
The Supreme Court's decision does not change the law that copyright registration is not required in order to acquire copyrights. An author of an original work acquires a copyright at the moment the work is created and fixed in a tangible medium. Copyrights provide the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute copies of the work, prepare derivative works, and publicly display, perform and broadcast the work. To enforce these rights, a copyright owner must register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office.
What does this mean for you? (Continued)
Read the entire article, Copyright Owners Must Obtain Registration Before Filing An Infringement Lawsuit.