Supreme Court to Resolve Copyright Registration Circuit Split

On June 28, the Supreme Court announced that it will address the long-standing circuit split regarding the Copyright Act's prerequisite for copyright infringement suits.

Although a copyright registration is not required for valid copyright ownership, the Copyright Act stipulates that a work must be "registered" before the copyright owner can file an infringement suit. Specifically, Section 411(a) provides that "no civil action for infringement of [a] copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until . . . registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title." The circuits are currently divided as to when "registration" has been "made" for purposes of Section 411(a):