Month: January 2019

Volume 8

This volume includes scholarship from Nicole E. Pottinger and Brian L. Frye, who explore the implications of copyright registration and discuss the recent Supreme Court case Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com; scholarship from Daniel Kazhdan and Sanjiv P. Laud addressing the Supreme Court’s recent decision in TC Heartland and how the change in venue law has impacted courts; scholarship from Perry J. Saidman covering the recent Supreme Court case Samsung Electronics Co. v. Apple, Inc., including the discussed 4-factor test for determining an article of manufacture for design patent damages; and scholarship by Scott D. Locke discussing The Invention Secrecy Act and the role of the USPTO as a gatekeeper of national security.

MASTHEAD

Editor-in-Chief
Derek Ventling

Editorial Team

Publishing Editor: Sarah Eddy
Managing Editor: Nick Palmieri
Articles Editor: Ty Edwards
Content Editor: Kenneth Guerra
Audio Editor: Nick Wheeler

Articles Editors: Alex Devilliers, Tachina Smith, LaShaila Spivey, Carolyn Griffith, Francesca Campione, Weichih Hsu, Phil Koranteng, Joseph Leonard, Sachin Patel

Faculty Advisor and Primary Contact: Professor Michael Mattioli
Faculty Advisor: Professor Mark Janis

CONTENTS

Registration is Fundamental

by Nicole Pottinger, University of Kentucky College of Law & Brian L. Frye, University of Kentucky College of Law

from Volume 8 (2018-2019)

Download this Article in PDF format from The Jerome Hall Law Library’s Digital Repository.

Under the Copyright Act, copyright owners can file infringement actions only if registration of their copyright claim with the Copyright Office “has been made” or “has been refused.” The United States Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com, in order to decide whether registration is “made” when a claimant files a registration application or when the Copyright Office registers the claim.

This article argues that the Court should hold that registration occurs when the Copyright Office registers the claim, in order to ensure that federal courts can benefit from the expertise of the Copyright Office. The Copyright Office recently began publishing the opinions of Copyright Office Review Board. This article uses those administrative opinions to show how the Copyright Office has developed the concepts of “originality” and “creativity” in ways that are helpful to the federal courts. It concludes with an Appendix listing the Copyright Office Review Board opinions addressing originality and explaining the basis for each decision.