Re: timing of filing a lawsuit

On Mon, Feb 22, 1999, Carol Cricow <carol[_at_]yujean.com> wrote:
>
> A friend recently pointed out the following language in a
> June '98 court ruling:
>
> "This article states, referring to Ryan v. Carl Corp, 1998 U.S. Dist.
> >LEXIS 9012 (C.D. Cal. June 16, 1998): '...the issuance of a
> certificate--and not merely the filing of an application--is required
> to create federal subject matter jurisdiction in a copyright action.'"
>
> I had understood that to sue, one must have sent in/filed the
> registration, not that the certificate had to have already issued.
> Does this decision change that or am I missing something?

The statute requires a certificate, but courts generally hold that the mere filing of an application for registration confers jurisdiction. That jurisdiction, however, is premised on the subsequent registration. If registration is refused, the suit can be dismissed. I know this because I lost a motion to dismiss based on the plaintiff's failure to obtain a registration prior to filing (M.D. Tenn.)

Barbara Gall
<bgall[_at_]sah.com> Received on Tue Feb 23 1999 - 16:46:25 GMT