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Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al.

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Supreme Court of the United States
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al.
Term: 2018
Important Dates
Argument: January 8, 2019
Decided:March 4, 2019
Outcome
Affirmed
Vote
9-0
Majority
Ruth Bader Ginsburg • Chief Justice John G. Roberts • Clarence Thomas • Stephen Breyer • Samuel Alito • Sonia Sotomayor • Elena Kagan • Neil Gorsuch • Brett Kavanaugh

Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al. is a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on January 8, 2019, during the court's 2018-2019 term. The court affirmed the ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, holding that registration "occurs, and a copyright claimant may commence an infringement suit, when the Copyright Office registers a copyright."[1] The case came on a writ of certiorari to the 11th Circuit.[2]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The case: Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation wrote articles for Wall-Street.com. When Wall-Street canceled its license agreement with Fourth Estate, it did not remove all of the content produced by the organization. Fourth Estate then filed a copy infringement lawsuit against Wall-Street. Fourth Estate filed an application to register its infringed copyrights, but the Copyright Office had not registered its claims. The district court dismissed the claim because Fourth Estate did not comply with the registration requirements, and the Eleventh Circuit Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling.
  • The issue: Whether "registration of [a] copyright claim has been made" within the meaning of§ 411 (a) when the copyright holder delivers the required application, deposit, and fee to the Copyright Office, as the Fifth and Ninth Circuits have held, or only once the Copyright Office acts on that application, as the Tenth Circuit and, in the decision below, the Eleventh Circuit have held.[3]
  • The outcome: The court affirmed the ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, holding that registration "occurs, and a copyright claimant may commence an infringement suit, when the Copyright Office registers a copyright."


    • You can review the lower court's opinion here.[4]

    Timeline

    The following timeline details key events in this case:

    • March 4, 2019: U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the 11th Circuit's ruling
    • January 8, 2019: Oral argument
    • June 28, 2018: U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear case
    • October 13, 2017: Petition filed with U.S. Supreme Court
    • May 18, 2017: Eleventh Circuit Court affirmed dismissal of complaint filed by Fourth Estate

    Background

    Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation, an online journalism organization, licenses articles to websites but retains the copyright to the articles. Fourth Estate produced articles for Wall-Street.com and obtained licenses to some of Fourth Estate’s articles. Wall-Street then canceled its license agreement with Fourth Estate and was required to remove all of the content produced by the organization. Wall-Street did not remove the content.[4]

    Fourth Estate filed a copy infringement lawsuit. The organization filed an application to register its infringed copyrights, but the Copyright Office had not registered its claims. The district court dismissed the claim because Fourth Estate did not comply with the registration requirement that “registration occurs when the Register of Copyrights ‘register[s] the claim,’ id. § 410(a).” The Eleventh Circuit Court affirmed the lower court’s ruling.[4]

    Fourth Estate appealed to the Supreme Court, and the court agreed to hear the case on June 28, 2018.

    Question presented

    The petitioner presented the following question to the court:[3]

    Question presented:
    • Whether "registration of [a] copyright claim has been made" within the meaning of§ 411 (a) when the copyright holder delivers the required application, deposit, and fee to the Copyright Office, as the Fifth and Ninth Circuits have held, or only once the Copyright Office acts on that application, as the Tenth Circuit and, in the decision below, the Eleventh Circuit have held.

    Audio

    • Audio of oral argument:[5]

    Transcript

    • Read the oral argument transcript here.

    Outcome

    Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the court. The court affirmed the judgment the 11th Circuit, holding that registration "occurs, and a copyright claimant may commence an infringement suit, when the Copyright Office registers a copyright."[1]

    Opinion

    In her opinion, Justice Ginsburg wrote,

    “ We hold, in accord with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, that registration occurs, and a copyright claimant may commence an infringement suit, when the Copyright Office registers a copyright. Upon registration of the copyright, however, a copyright owner can recover for infringement that occurred both before and after registration.[6] ”

    Text of the opinion

    • Read the full opinion here.

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Supreme Court of the United States, Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al., Opinion, March 4, 2019
    2. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "17-571 Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation, Petitioner v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al." accessed December 18, 2018
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Supreme Court of the United States, "17-571 Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation, Petitioner v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al." accessed December 18, 2018
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 SCOTUSblog, "Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation, Petitioner v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al." accessed December 18, 2018
    5. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, et al. argued January 8, 2019
    6. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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