About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

72 J. Pat. & Trademark Off. Soc'y 1006 (1990)
Beat the Clock: The Effect of Section 412 of the Copyright Act on Post-Infringement Registration

handle is hein.journals/jpatos72 and id is 1032 raw text is: BEAT THE CLOCK: The Effect of Section 412 of the Copyright Act on Post-Infringement Registration* Stephen J. Strauss** I. INTRODUCIION M ost practitioners of intellectual property law would agree that I applying for copyright registrations is not difficult. What could be simpler: merely complete a pre-printed form and send it to the United States Copyright Office together with the appropriate deposit of the work to be registered and a check in the amount of ten dollars to cover the processing fee. Within three months, and usually with little or no further communication from the Copyright Office, a Cer- tificate of Copyright Registration will be returned. Given the relative simplicity of this application process, it seems surprising that many copyright registrations are sought only after infringement of the work has occurred. This is a major mistake, and should not be encouraged. As will be discussed, the Copyright Act of 1976 penalizes holders of post-infringement registrations in the recovery of statutory damages and attorney's fees in court. II. THE POST-INFRINGEMENT REGISTRATION DILEMMA UNDER SECTION 412 The Copyright Act of 1976 is replete with powerful incentives to encourage the registration of both published and unpublished works. Registration is a prerequisite for maintaining an action for copyright infringement.' Additionally, registration constitutes prima facie evi- dence of the validity of the copyright as well as the facts stated in the registration certificate.2 However, the single most important in- centive to register (certainly the one with the most impact on a co- *Copyright 1990 Stephen J. Strauss, Esq. **Fulwider, Patton, Lee & Utecht Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego 1. 17 U.S.C. § 411. 2. 17 U.S.C. 410(c). See Apple Computer, Inc. v. Formula Inteniational, Inc., 725 F. 2d 521 (91h Cir. 1984). 1006

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most