Abstract

Copyright in qualifying United States works has always arisen upon creation. For many years, however, rights could be lost by failing to, e.g., provide notice, register and deposit copies when works were first published. In 1909 formal requirements were reduced, and the Supreme Court, in 1939, concluded that registration with the U.S Copyright Office was unnecessary to retain rights. Despite that, owners could not sue infringers without having registered.

Regarding registration as helpful if not obligatory, this paper compares the burden on moving parties in circumstances in which registration decisions may be challenged in courts.

Publication Date

2004

Journal Title

IDEA: The Journal of Law and Technology

Document Type

Article

Additional Information

This article was also made available as Paper 37 in the Pierce Law Faculty Scholarship Series by NELLCO (nellco.org).

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