Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2020
Abstract
In March, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its highly-anticipated decision in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v. Wall-Street.com, LLC which resolved a split among U.S. Court of Appeals concerning the point in time when a copyright owner is first able to file suit against an alleged infringer. While at first glance this case may merely appear to be a simple issue of statutory interpretation, namely whether it is upon application for registration or once a determination has been made on registration by the U.S. Copyright Office, I argue this decision is a clarion call for a much-needed amendment to the Copyright Act. Although the Court may have correctly construed the registration prerequisite in Section 411(a) of the Copyright Act, I argue that neither of the two approaches before the Court was a truly appropriate option.
Publication Title
Missouri Law Review
Volume
85
Issue
2
Article Number
19
First Page
357
Last Page
52
Suggested Bluebook Citation
Christine Suzanne Davik, Unregistered Complaints, 85 MO. L. REV. 357 (2020).