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Entertainment Law & FinanceFeaturesCopyrightsEntertainment and Sports LawLitigationUnited States Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court Considers Copyright Registration of Multiple Works

By Rex A. Donnelly
November 01, 2021

Copyright registration is not mandatory to obtain rights in the United States, consistent with the rest of the world, under the Berne Convention. The owner of a work is entitled to mark the work "© [owner] [date]" to provide notice of ownership, regardless of registration status. A federal copyright registration is only required to enforce rights in U.S. courts. So why register early? U.S. law contains some valuable incentives to encourage copyright registration. An owner who timely registers is eligible to recover statutory damages (if desired) and attorney fees, in addition to obtaining an injunction. A copyright owner who registers more than three months after publication and after infringement commences, can still seek an injunction, but monetary recovery is limited to actual damages.

Many infringement cases involve zero or only de minimis actual damages. With potential statutory damages of up to $30,000 per infringement (up to $150,000 for willful infringement), and in view of the steep cost of litigation, the prospect of being awarded statutory damages and attorney fees can mean the difference between the owner of a registered work confidently asserting and fully litigating its rights, or not being able to litigate at all. A government fee of $45 for electronically filing a copyright application for a single work and a provision that allows for registration of multiple works together in a single application in certain circumstances (more on that below), make registration a bargain compared to other types of IP protection.

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