Fourth Estate held that registration means the Copyright Office has acted on the application, not merely that it was filed. Registration before infringement or within three months of publication is required for statutory damages and fees.
Timely registration determines remedy availability.
Alternative Names:
Registration (Copyright)|Copyright Registration Requirement
Why it Matters?
Late registration eliminates statutory damages and attorney fees for infringement beginning before registration, which frequently reduces a claim to unprovable actual damages and makes the case economically unviable. Checking registration timing against the infringement start date is accordingly the first defense analysis in any copyright matter. Fourth Estate also means an application alone does not support suit.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What is the first defense analysis?
Does a pending application support suit?
