Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Intellectual Property Law Blogs -> Business and Technology Law

Intellectual Property Law

: Business and Technology Law

Inaccurate Copyright Applications Can Result in Allegations of Fraud on the Copyright Office

By Stephanie Robinson

Copyright registration is a necessary step for any owner of original content, but it is important to be vigilant when completing the application to the U.S. Copyright Office ? inaccurate information on the application can lead to significant copyright enforcement obstacles. In Shirokov v. Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver et al., a federal lawsuit recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the plaintiff alleged that he received a demand letter from a law firm representing a German movie studio. The letter accused the plaintiff of illegally downloading the studio?s film ?Far Cry? and demanded that he pay damages for the infringement. However, according to the complaint, the studio?s law firm lied on a copyright application in stating that November 24, 2009 was the film?s publication date. According to the plaintiff, this was the date of the film's U.S. DVD release, but the film was released in Germany October 2, 2008, in U.S. theaters December 17, 2008, and on DVD in the Netherlands April 14, 2009. The plaintiff therefore argued that the studio should be barred from filing suit to recover damages for any infringement as a result of the statute-of-limitations and registration-period requirements provided in the Copyright Act. Courts differ on when a copyright registration may be invalidated due to mistakes in the application, but intentional fraud typically will void the registration. The Copyright Act provides in section 410(b) that the Register of Copyrightsmust refuse registrationto anyclaim that is invalid. Section 411 prevents an applicant from obtaining remedies for copyright infringement if inaccurate information was included in the application and it was a) included on the application with knowledge that it was inaccurate and b) the inaccuracy of the information, if known, would have caused the Register of Copyrights to refuse registration. Finally, section 506(e) states that any person who knowingly makes a false representation of a material fact in the application for copyright registration, or in any written statement filed with the application, shall be fined not more than $2,500. Including accurate information in a copyright application is vital. Content owners should consult with counsel if there are any questions regarding how to complete a copyright application or to enforce copyrights against infringers.

Full post as published by Business and Technology Law on December 27, 2010 (boomark / email).