Lawsuits Must Wait for Copyright Office, High Court Rules (1)

A copyright holder can’t sue for infringement before the U.S. Copyright Office has registered or rejected the work, a unanimous Supreme Court has ruled.

The high court March 4 rejected Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp.'s argument that the act of applying for copyright registration meets the requirement for filing an infringement suit. Wall-Street.com LLC argued the law plainly requires a copyright holder to have a Copyright Office registration in hand before suing for infringement.

The ruling will most impact efforts to get restraining orders and preliminary injunctions, copyright attorney Aaron Moss, a copyright attorney at Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & ...