On Thu, 16 Jul 1998, Ari Kahan <akahan[_at_]netcom.com> wrote:
>
> On 7/15/98, Laurie Urquiaga <urquiagal[_at_]lawgate.byu.edu> wrote:
> >
> > What the law says is that everything has copyright once it is fixed in
> > a tangible medium of expression. Email does this, so email qualifies.
> > Remember, there is now a difference between having a copyright and
> > registering that copyright. Registering it qualifies you for
> > statutory damages. Not registering disqualifies you wrt statutory
> > damages, but it doesn't prevent you from taking legal action against
> > people who infringe your copyright.
>
> This is not quite right.
>
> At least in the U.S., for works created in the U.S., you can't
> file an infringement claim until you've filed for registration
> of the infringed work, and had your application either granted
> or rejected: while "registration is not a condition of copyright
> protection," 17 U.S.C. Sec. 408(a), "no action for infringement of
> the copyright in any work shall be instituted until registration of
> the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title."
> 17 U.S.C. Sec. 411(a). Indeed, an allegation in the Complaint of
> compliance with the statutory registration and deposit requirements
> has been found to be jurisdictionally required. Frederick Fell
> Publishers, Inc. v. Lorayne, 422 F.Supp. 808 (SDNY 1976). A plaintiff
> may also proceed if it applies for registration and is refused: "where
> the deposit, application, and fee required for registration have been
> delivered to the Copyright Office in proper form and registration has
> been refused, the applicant is entitled to institute an action for
> infringement..." 17 U.S.C.A. Sec. 411(b). Of course, in this last
> class of cases, the plaintiff will have to persuade the court that
> the copyright office was wrong to deny registration.
I'm having trouble understanding why an application for copyright would be rejected. After all, when you submit work to the copyright office (say Form TX for nondramatic literary work) isn't the assumption made that you are indeed the creator of said work?
Under what circumstances would a copyright application be rejected?
I can't imagine this happening - but what if you originated a work - and submitted it for copyright registration and someone else obtained a copy of that work and also attempted to register the work fraudently under his name?
Brigid S. Delaney
Brigid S. Delaney, Publisher and Editor
Wired Art from Wired Hearts E-zine
http://www.wiredhearts.net/
<wiredheart[_at_]hotmail.com>
"Respect all your fellow earthlings" Berke Breathed
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