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ARTICLE · 02 SEPTEMBER 2019

U.S. Supreme Court Issues Decisions Resolving Two Major Copyright Law Issues

Masuda, Funai, Eifert & Mitchell, Ltd.
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Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two unanimous decisions resolving two deceptively simple, but nevertheless significant, questions of copyright law

United StatesIntellectual Property
Jiwon Juliana Yhee
Jiwon Juliana Yhee
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Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two unanimous decisions resolving two deceptively simple, but nevertheless significant, questions of copyright law, namely, when a copyright is considered to be “registered” under section 411(a) of the Copyright Act of 1976 (“Copyright Act”) and what categories of costs are included in the “full costs” authorized under the Copyright Act.

Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al.

Although a copyright author gains exclusive rights in his or her work immediately upon the work’s creation, section 411(a) of the Copyright Act bars a copyright owner from pursuing a civil action for infringement of those rights until the “registration of the copyright” is made, with limited exceptions. Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al., 139 S. Ct. 881 (2019), the U.S. Courts of Appeals were split on the issue of when a work could be

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