We represent authors, photographers, designers, musicians and businesses in copyright disputes, both those enforcing their rights and those defending against a claim. Our attorneys have over fifty years of combined experience in Maryland intellectual property law. Call (410) 752-9300 to discuss a copyright matter.
Registration timing decides what you can do
This is the most consequential thing to understand about copyright enforcement, and it catches people out constantly.
Copyright exists automatically the moment an original work is fixed in tangible form. You do not register in order to own it. Suing on it is different. In Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, 586 U.S. 296 (2019), the Supreme Court held that an infringement suit may be filed only once the Register of Copyrights has acted on the application, granting or refusing it, rather than once the application has merely been submitted.
Timing also governs what you can recover. Registering promptly, instead of after you discover an infringement, is what preserves the possibility of statutory damages and attorneys’ fees rather than leaving you to prove actual losses. If you own work of real value and have not registered it, fix that before you need it.
Where a claim can be brought
The Copyright Office administers registrations. It does not enforce them. Enforcement has historically meant a civil action in federal court, and for substantial disputes it still does.
A second route now exists. The CASE Act of 2020 created the Copyright Claims Board, a small-claims tribunal inside the U.S. Copyright Office built for lower-value disputes, with a damages ceiling and a simpler, cheaper process. Participation is voluntary, and a respondent may opt out, which pushes the dispute back to federal court. For an individual creator facing a modest infringement that could never justify federal litigation, it can be the difference between a remedy and none at all. Whether it suits your matter is one of the first things worth assessing.
Defending a copyright claim
Fair use may apply where your work transforms the original, or where it does not harm the market for it. Courts decide fair use case by case on statutory factors, and confident predictions about it are usually misplaced.
Independent creation is a complete answer to infringement if you created your work without knowledge of the original. Copyright protects against copying, not against coincidence.
Innocent infringement is worth being precise about, because it gets widely misunderstood. It is not a defense to liability. Under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2), where an infringer proves they were not aware and had no reason to believe their acts infringed, the court may reduce statutory damages to as little as $200. That limits your exposure. It does not defeat the claim.
When to get copyright counsel
- You believe someone is using your work without permission.
- You have been accused of infringement, or received a takedown notice or demand letter.
- You are not sure whether what you are planning would infringe.
- You want to transfer, sell or license your rights.
- You hold work of value that you have never registered.
Call (410) 752-9300 or use the contact form on this page. See also our pages on copyright protection and licensing agreements.