No. 17-571October Term 2018Decided Mar 4, 2019
Fourth Estate Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com
This case determines whether a copyright owner can file an infringement lawsuit immediately after submitting a registration application, or if they must wait until the Copyright Office officially processes the claim.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Mar 4, 2019
- What it's about
This case determines whether a copyright owner can file an infringement lawsuit immediately after submitting a registration application, or if they must wait until the Copyright Office officially processes the claim. The Supreme Court ruled that a copyright claim is only considered registered once the Copyright Office acts on the application.
Question presented
Is “registration of [a] copyright claim” complete under 17 U.S.C. § 411(a) when the copyright holder delivers the required application, fees, and materials to the copyright office, or only once the copyright office has acted on that application?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit / Decision released Mar 4, 2019
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- May 31, 2026
- Method
- Methodology