Two unanimous opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, March 4, make winning a copyright infringement case more difficult.
In the
Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC,No. 17–571, the Court held that an infringement suit can not be instituted until the Copyright Office grants a registration rather than when the copyright owner merely submits the application. This may extend the period of infringement given the current relatively long time between filing an application and the Copyright Offices’ approval or denial of that application.
In the case of
Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc., No. 17-1625, the Court limited “costs” to fees for the clerk and marshal; transcript, copyright, and docketing fees; disbursements for printing and witnesses; and the compensation of court-appointed experts and certain special interpretation services. The Court rejected Oracle’s position that “full costs” under Section 505 included expert witness fees, electronic discovery expenses, and jury consultant fees.
See a full report on the Digital Media Licensing Association website
here.