Tag: copyright infringement

Copyright Rules Regulations and Frustrations

Copyright Applications

Copyright Applications

This blog is an expansion of BPL’s July 9, 2020 blog on Copyright Registrations in an effort to further help you understand the copyright process.

It Can Be Complex

The process of applying for a Copyright Registration, according to the United States Code, is as follows:

To procure US Copyright Registrations, the creator/owner of the original work(s) of authorship must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression. 17 United States Code 102.

Simplifying The Code

Let’s consider that statement in normal-speak instead of legalese.

  • The “creator/owner” can be self explanatory, as is the “original work.”
  • Depending on circumstances, the creator is not always the owner.
  • “Authorship” means somebody needs to create the original work.
  • The “tangible medium of expression” can be anything from a physical copy of the work, such as a book or a painting, to a digital copy, such as a computer file or an online video.

With that information, you now know that once there’s a copy of the work (tangible medium of expression), you as the creator/owner will need to file a Copyright Application with the Copyright Office to procure a Copyright Registration.

Benefits Of A Copyright Registration

The application must include information about the work, such as the title, the author, and the date of creation. Once the application is filed, the Copyright Office may issue a Copyright Registration. They usually do, but not always. Also, Copyright Registration is not required to secure a Copyright, but it does provide a number of benefits, including the ability to sue in federal court for Copyright infringement and statutory damages.

Selecting The Correct Copyright Application Form May Not Be Straight Forward

You didn’t expect anything at the Copyright Office to be simple or easy did you? There are different types of authorships which  require different Copyright Office paper forms or digital portals.

Principal Categories of Copyright Applications

  • Literary Works
  • Performing Arts
  • Visual Arts
  • Motion Pictures
  • Digital Works not otherwise categorized
  • Photographs

Copyright Office Forms/Digital Portals

Literary Works (Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Articles, Periodicals)

  • Literary Work (Form TX)
  • Serial Publications (Form SE)
  • Form CON

Performing Arts (Music, Lyrics, Sound Records, Scripts, Stage Plays)

  • Works of the Performing Arts (Form PA)
  • Sound Recordings (Form SR)
  • Form CON

Visual Arts (Artwork, Illustrations, Jewelry, Fabric, Architecture)

  • Visual Arts Work (Form VA)
  • Form CON

Motion Pictures (Movies, TV Shows, Video Games, Animation, Videos)

  • Works of the Performing Arts (Form PA)
  • Form CON

Group Copyright Applications

1. Group Registration for Works on an Album of Music (GRAM) –

Group Registration of musical works, recordings, photos, artwork and liner notes that are published on the same album

2. Group Registration of Short Online Literary Works (GRTX) –

  • Digital Works not otherwise categorized (Computer Programs, Databases, Blogs, Websites)
  • Group Registration of Published Photographs
  • Group Registration of Short Online Literary Works

3. Group Registration of Unpublished Works (GRUW) –

  • Photographs (News Photographs, Selfies, Wedding Photographs, Family Photographs)
  • Photographic Databases

If you want to secure a copyright on your original works and need assistance filing your Copyright Applications, contact BPL we would be happy to handle this task for you.

Ask Us Anything… about Intellectual Property!

If you or your business are located in the greater Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Lexington, or Louisville standard metropolitan statistical areas and have a topic or question you would like us to address in the blog, please send us an email.

We provide intellectual property and business counsel for businesses and companies.  If you need assistance, please contact Business Patent Law, PLLC.

If you would like to stay up-to-date with news that impacts your business and intellectual property, sign up for Business Patent Law’s Monthly Mailer™ newsletter.

The Copyright Bundle (17 U.S.C. §106) of Exclusive Rights includes: The right to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords The right to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work The right to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly In the case of sound recording, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission

Copyright Bundle

Sometimes people in the musical or performing arts make reference to a Copyright Bundle.  Copyright Registrations can enhance the “litigation teeth” associated with a Copyright Bundle.

What is a Copyright Bundle?

The Copyright Bundle (17 U.S.C. §106) of Exclusive Rights includes:

  • The right to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords
  • The right to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work
  • The right to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending
  • In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly
  • In the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly
  • In the case of sound recording, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission

Our Situation: Will our Copyright Bundle help us?

Our Louisville, Kentucky musical group has a Copyright Registration for the musical score and lyrics of our signature song.

When in Lexington, Kentucky, we stopped at one of Lexington’s music spots to enjoy the local music.  Although one of the Lexington groups made some changes to the lyrics of our signature song, they did not miss a beat of our copyrighted score.

The group did not have permission to use our signature song and the Lexington musical spot charged admission for us to enter the premises.

General Observations

Based on the above scenario, unless the Lexington group and Lexington music spot could prove a fair use defense, the Louisville group has a valid claim for Copyright infringement.

If you have questions about your Copyrights, please contact Business Patent Law, PLLC.

Business Patent Law, PLLC provides intellectual property and business counsel for businesses and companies.  If you need assistance, please contact Business Patent Law, PLLC.

If you would like to stay up-to-date with news that impacts your business and intellectual property, sign up for Business Patent Law’s Monthly Mailer™ newsletter.

Copyright Infringement - Statutory Damages

Statutory Damages – Copyright Infringement

When Are Potential Statutory Damages available?

  • Situation #1 – Our company filed the Copyright Application within seven days after the work was finished. The Copyright Registration was granted eleven months after filing the Copyright Application. One year after filing of the Application, we notified a potential infringer of alleged infringement and our intention to seek statutory damages (among other things) unless the infringement ceased immediately. If infringement is proved, statutory damages available to Copyright owner.
  • Situation #2 – The family business published the finished work in September. We filed the Copyright Application in November. In June of the next year, the Copyright Office granted our registration. In July, our sales people reported that our competitor had copied our published work. If infringement is proved, statutory damages available to Copyright owner.
  • Situation #3 – Jimmy the artist published his finished work in January. In April, Jimmy filed the Copyright Application with the Copyright Office. In August, Jimmy learned that his brother, Billy, was using Jimmy’s finished work without permission and that Billy had been paid thousands of dollars by Harry’s Place to use the finished work. Harry believed the work to be Billy’s work.  The Copyright Office granted Jimmy’s Copyright Registration in December. Harry Place’s commenced publishing Jimmy’s finished work one year after the work was completed. Statutory damages are not available against Billy. If infringement is proved, statutory damages are available to Jimmy for Harry’s Place’s infringement.

What the Law Says About Statutory Infringement & Damages

The Basic Parameters for Copyright Infringement Statutory Damages are set forth in 17 United States Code (U.S.C.) 504

17 U.S.C. 504, in part, reads:

(a) In General.—Except as otherwise provided by this title, an infringer of copyright is liable for either—

(1) the copyright owner’s actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, as provided by subsection (b); or

(2) statutory damages, as provided by subsection (c).

(c) Statutory Damages.—

(1) Except as provided by clause (2) of this subsection, the copyright owner may elect, at any time before final judgment is rendered, to recover, instead of actual damages and profits, an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work, for which any one infringer is liable individually, or for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally, in a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 as the court considers just. For the purposes of this subsection, all the parts of a compilation or derivative work constitute one work.

(2) In a case where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $150,000. In a case where the infringer sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that such infringer was not aware and had no reason to believe that his or her acts constituted an infringement of copyright, the court in its discretion may reduce the award of statutory damages to a sum of not less than $200. The court shall remit statutory damages in any case where an infringer believed and had reasonable grounds for believing that his or her use of the copyrighted work was a fair use under section 107…

US Supreme Court Ruling: When is Copyright Registration Made?

In the Supreme Court case of Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v Wall-Street.Com, LLC, (2019) the Supreme Court held “…registration . . . has been made” within the meaning of 17 U. S. C. §411(a) not when an application for registration is filed, but when the Registrar has registered a copyright after examining a properly filed application.”

As a practical matter, it may take nine or more months subsequent to the filing of an Application for Copyright Registration before the Registration is granted by the Copyright Office.

Limitations for Statutory Damages

As a general rule, 15 U.S.C. 412 limits the Copyright owner’s statutory damages remedies to an owner having an effective date of registration not later than three months subsequent to first publication or one month after the owner learned of the infringement.

Still Have Questions About Statutory Infringement and/or Damages?

If your enterprise needs legal assistance procuring/managing/enforcing your Patent Applications, Patents, Copyrights or Trademarks/Service Marks, please contact Business Patent Law, PLLC.

Business Patent Law, PLLC provides intellectual property and business counsel for businesses and companies.

If you would like to stay up-to-date with news that impacts your business and intellectual property, sign up for Business Patent Law’s Monthly Mailer™ newsletter.