No. 17-571
`In the Supreme Court of the United States
`
`
`
`FOURTH ESTATE PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION,
`PETITIONER
`
`v.
`
`WALL-STREET.COM, LLC, ET AL.
`
`
`ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI
`TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
`FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
`
`
`
`BRIEF FOR THE UNITED STATES
`AS AMICUS CURIAE SUPPORTING RESPONDENTS
`
`
`
` NOEL J. FRANCISCO
`Solicitor General
`Counsel of Record
`JOSEPH H. HUNT
`Assistant Attorney
`General
`MALCOLM L. STEWART
`Deputy Solicitor General
`JONATHAN Y. ELLIS
`Assistant to the Solicitor
`General
`MARK R. FREEMAN
`DENNIS FAN
`Attorneys
`Department of Justice
`Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
`SupremeCtBriefs@usdoj.gov
`(202) 514-2217
`
`REGAN A. SMITH
`General Counsel and
`Associate Register of
`Copyrights
`JASON E. SLOAN
`Assistant General Counsel
`United States Copyright
` Office
`Washington, D.C. 20540
`
`
`
`
`

`

`QUESTION PRESENTED
`
`Section 411(a) of the Copyright Act provides that “no
`civil action for infringement of the copyright in any
`United States work shall be instituted until” either
`(1) “registration of the copyright claim has been made
`in accordance with this title” or (2) “the deposit, appli-
`cation, and fee required for registration have been de-
`livered to the Copyright Office in proper form and reg-
`istration has been refused.” 17 U.S.C. 411(a). The ques-
`tion presented is as follows:
`Whether a copyright owner may commence an in-
`fringement suit after delivering the proper deposit, ap-
`plication, and fee to the Copyright Office, but before the
`Register of Copyrights has acted on the application for
`registration.
`
`
`
`
`(I)
`
`

`

`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`Page
`
`Interest of the United States....................................................... 1
`Statement ...................................................................................... 1
`Summary of the argument ......................................................... 11
`Argument:
`Under Section 411(a), a copyright-infringement suit
`may not be filed until the Register of Copyrights has
`either approved or refused registration of the work ......... 14
`A. The text and structure of the Copyright Act
`support the court of appeals’ interpretation of
`Section 411(a) ................................................................... 14
`B. The history of the Copyright Act supports the court
`of appeals’ interpretation of Section 411(a) .................. 22
`C. Petitioner’s contrary arguments are unavailing .......... 26
`Conclusion ................................................................................... 33
`Appendix A — United States Copyright Office
` letter to William Brown (Apr. 4, 2016) ...... 1a
`Appendix B — United States Copyright Office
` letter to William Brown (Aug. 4, 2017) ..... 3a
`
`TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
`
`Cases:
`
`
`
`Algonquin Music, Inc. v. Mills Music, Inc.,
`93 F. Supp. 268 (S.D.N.Y. 1950) ........................................ 23
`Bouvé v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.,
`122 F.2d 51 (D.C. Cir. 1941) ............................................... 24
`Carr v. United States, 560 U.S. 438 (2010) ......................... 30
`Clark v. Rameker, 134 S. Ct. 2242 (2014) ............................ 17
`Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186 (2003) ............................... 33
`Feist Publ’ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Serv. Co.,
`499 U.S. 340 (1991).............................................................. 10
`Golan v. Holder, 565 U.S. 302 (2012) ................................... 31
`Hall v. United States, 566 U.S. 506 (2012) .......................... 18
`
`(III)
`
`

`

`IV
`
`Cases—Continued:
`
`Page
`
`Lumiere v. Pathé Exch., Inc., 275 F. 428
`(2d Cir. 1921) ....................................................................... 23
`Mazer v. Stein, 347 U.S. 201 (1954) ......................................... 30
`Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.,
`134 S. Ct. 1962 (2014) ......................................................... 16
`Reed Elsevier, Inc. v. Muchnick, 559 U.S. 154 (2010) ..... 6, 31
`Rosedale v. News Syndicate Co., 39 F. Supp. 357
`(S.D.N.Y. 1941) ................................................................... 23
`Roth Greeting Cards v. United Card Co.,
`429 F.2d 1106 (9th Cir. 1970) ....................................... 17, 25
`Star Athletica, L.L.C. v. Varsity Brands, Inc.,
`137 S. Ct. 1002 (2017) ......................................................... 14
`Vacheron & Constantin-Le Coultre Watches, Inc. v.
`Benrus Watch Co., 260 F.2d 637 (2d Cir. 1958) ......... 23, 24
`Vermont Agency of Natural Res. v. United States
`ex rel. Stevens, 529 U.S. 765 (2000) ................................... 21
`Washingtonian Publ’g Co. v. Pearson, 306 U.S. 30
`(1939) ................................................................................ 3, 32
`Wheaton v. Peters, 33 U.S. (8 Pet.) 591 (1834) ..................... 2
`White-Smith Music Publ’g Co. v. Goff, 187 F. 247
`(1st Cir. 1911) ...................................................................... 25
`
`Statutes and regulations:
`
`Act of May 31, 1790, ch. 15, 1 Stat. 124 .................................. 2
`§ 2, 1 Stat. 124 .................................................................... 3
`§ 3, 1 Stat. 125 ............................................................ 15, 22
`§§ 3-4, 1 Stat. 125 ............................................................... 2
`Act of July 8, 1870, ch. 230, 16 Stat. 198:
`§§ 90-91, 16 Stat. 213 ......................................................... 3
`§ 91, 16 Stat. 213 ........................................................ 15, 22
`§ 97, 16 Stat. 214 ................................................................ 3
`§§ 99-100, 16 Stat. 214 ................................................. 3, 22
`
`
`
`

`

`Statutes and regulations—Continued:
`
`Page
`
`V
`
`Act of Feb. 19, 1897, ch. 265, 29 Stat. 545 ............................. 3
`Act of Mar. 4, 1909, ch. 320, 35 Stat. 1075:
`§ 9, 35 Stat. 1077 ................................................................ 3
`§ 10, 35 Stat. 1078 .............................................................. 4
`§ 12, 35 Stat. 1078 ............................................ 4, 12, 17, 23
`Copyright Act of 1976, Pub. L. No. 94-553,
`90 Stat. 2541 (17 U.S.C. 101 et seq.) .................................... 1
`17 U.S.C. 101 ...................................................................... 6
`17 U.S.C. 102(a) ................................................................. 1
`17 U.S.C. 106 ...................................................................... 2
`17 U.S.C. 205(c) ......................................................... 28, 29
`17 U.S.C. 205(c)(1) ........................................................... 29
`17 U.S.C. 406(a) ......................................................... 29, 30
`17 U.S.C. 406(a)(1) ........................................................... 29
`17 U.S.C. 408 .............................................................. 16, 20
`17 U.S.C. 408(a) ....................................................... 4, 6, 27
`17 U.S.C. 408(b) ................................................................. 4
`17 U.S.C. 408(c)(3) ........................................................... 27
`17 U.S.C. 408(f ) ................................................... 21, 22, 32
`17 U.S.C. 408(f )(2) ........................................................... 22
`17 U.S.C. 408(f )(3) ..................................................... 12, 20
`17 U.S.C. 409 .......................................................... 4, 16, 20
`17 U.S.C. 410 ...................................................................... 4
`17 U.S.C. 410(a) ............................................4, 9, 11, 16, 21
`17 U.S.C. 410(b) ................................................................. 5
`17 U.S.C. 410(c) ........................................................... 7, 31
`17 U.S.C. 410(d) .......................................... 6, 12, 21, 28, 29
`17 U.S.C. 411 ...................................................................... 6
`17 U.S.C. 411(a) ...................................................... passim
`17 U.S.C. 411(b)(1) ...................................................... 6, 16
`17 U.S.C. 411(c) ................................................... 27, 28, 32
`
`
`
`

`

`Statutes and regulations—Continued:
`
`Page
`
`VI
`
`17 U.S.C. 411(c)(2) ........................................................... 27
`17 U.S.C. 412 .......................................................... 7, 27, 32
`17 U.S.C. 412(2) ......................................................... 27, 28
`17 U.S.C. 501(a) ................................................................. 2
`17 U.S.C. 502 ...................................................................... 2
`17 U.S.C. 503 ...................................................................... 2
`17 U.S.C. 504 ...................................................................... 2
`17 U.S.C. 504(a)(2) ............................................................ 7
`17 U.S.C. 504(c) .............................................................. 7
`17 U.S.C. 504(c)(1) ........................................................... 33
`17 U.S.C. 504(c)(2) ........................................................... 33
`17 U.S.C. 505 .................................................................. 2, 7
`17 U.S.C. 508 .................................................................... 20
`17 U.S.C. 508(a) ............................................................... 19
`17 U.S.C. 508(b) ............................................................... 20
`17 U.S.C. 508(c) ............................................................... 20
`17 U.S.C. 705 .................................................................... 29
`17 U.S.C. 705(a) ..................................................... 4, 15, 32
`17 U.S.C. 705(b) ........................................................... 4, 32
`17 U.S.C. 708 ...................................................................... 4
`17 U.S.C. 708(a) ............................................................... 28
`17 U.S.C. 708(a)(1) ................................................. 4, 12, 20
`37 C.F.R.:
`Section 201.3(d)(7) ............................................................. 5
`Section 202.16(b)(1) ......................................................... 22
`Section 202.16(c) .............................................................. 22
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`Miscellaneous:
`
`Page
`
`VII
`
`Caruthers Berger, Study No. 18: Authority of the
`Register of Copyrights to Reject Applications for
`Registration (1959), reprinted in Subcomm. on
`Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights, Senate
`Comm. on the Judiciary, 86th Cong., 2d Sess.,
`Copyright Law Revision: Studies Prepared
`Pursuant to S. Res. 240, Studies 17-19
`(Comm. Print 1960) ............................................................ 25
`Black’s Law Dictionary:
`(revised 4th ed. 1968) ................................................ 15, 20
`(10th ed. 2014) .................................................................. 15
`134 Cong. Rec. 28,302-28,303 (1988) ...................................... 6
`Copyright Law Revision: Report of the Register
`of Copyrights on the General Revision of the
`U.S. Copyright Law, 87th Cong., 1st Sess.
`(Comm. Print 1961) ...................................................... 25, 26
`83 Fed. Reg. 24,054 (May 24, 2018) ....................................... 5
`H.R. Rep. No. 199, 115th Cong., 1st Sess. (2017) ................. 5
`H.R. Rep. No. 1476, 94th Cong., 2d Sess. (1976) .......... 24, 30
`Prof. Benjamin Kaplan, Study No. 17: The
`Registration of Copyright (1958), reprinted in
`Subcomm. on Patents, Trademarks, and
`Copyrights, Senate Comm. on the Judiciary,
`86th Cong., 2d Sess., Copyright Law Revision:
`Studies Prepared Pursuant to S. Res. 240,
`Studies 17-19 (Comm. Print 1960) ...................................... 2
`U.S. Copyright Office:
`Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices
`(3d ed. 2017) ............................................. 4, 5, 8, 10, 16
`Public Catalog, http://cocatalog.loc.gov
`(last visited Oct. 18, 2018) ........................................... 5
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

`

`VIII
`
`Miscellaneous—Continued:
`Registration Processing Times, https://www.
`copyright.gov/registration/docs/processing-
`times-faqs.pdf (last visited Oct. 18, 2018) ...... 5, 10, 30
`Webster’s Third New International Dictionary
`(1966) .................................................................................... 15
`
`
`Page
`
`
`
`

`

`In the Supreme Court of the United States
`
`
`
`No. 17-571
`
`FOURTH ESTATE PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION,
`PETITIONER
`
`v.
`
`WALL-STREET.COM, LLC, ET AL.
`
`
`ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI
`TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
`FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
`
`
`
`BRIEF FOR THE UNITED STATES
`AS AMICUS CURIAE SUPPORTING RESPONDENTS
`
`
`
`INTEREST OF THE UNITED STATES
`This case presents the question whether a copyright
`owner may commence a suit for copyright infringement
`before the Register of Copyrights, as director of the
`Copyright Office, has acted on the owner’s application
`for registration. The United States has a substantial
`interest in the resolution of that question, as the Copy-
`right Office is responsible for copyright registration. At
`the Court’s invitation, the United States filed a brief as
`amicus curiae at the petition stage of this case.
`
`STATEMENT
`1. The Copyright Act of 1976 (Copyright Act or 1976
`Act), 17 U.S.C. 101 et seq., grants copyright protection
`to “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible
`medium of expression.” 17 U.S.C. 102(a). Among other
`rights and benefits, copyright protection confers on
`
`(1)
`
`

`

`2
`
`owners the exclusive rights to copy, distribute, and per-
`form the works. 17 U.S.C. 106. Anyone who violates
`these rights is “an infringer of the copyright” and may
`be held liable to the copyright owner for actual or stat-
`utory damages, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees
`and costs. 17 U.S.C. 501(a), 502, 503, 504, 505.
`Beginning with the initial Copyright Act, Act of May
`31, 1790 (1790 Act), ch. 15, 1 Stat. 124, Congress has
`provided for the official registration of copyrighted
`works. See Prof. Benjamin Kaplan, Study No. 17: The
`Registration of Copyright (1958), reprinted in Subcomm.
`on Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights, Senate Comm.
`on the Judiciary, 86th Cong., 2d Sess., Copyright Law
`Revision: Studies Prepared Pursuant to S. Res. 240,
`Studies 17-19, at 9-27 (Comm. Print 1960). Congress
`has generally required that such registration be com-
`pleted before a copyright owner could commence an ac-
`tion for infringement.
`a. The 1790 Act required each author first to deposit
`a copy of his work prior to its publication with the
`clerk’s office of the district court where the author re-
`sided, so that the clerk could “record the same forth-
`with, in a book to be kept by him for that purpose,” and
`then to publish notice of the copyright record in a news-
`paper for four weeks. 1790 Act §§ 3-4, 1 Stat. 125.
`Under that law, compliance with the deposit require-
`ment was a prerequisite to copyright protection. See
`Wheaton v. Peters, 33 U.S. (8 Pet.) 591, 663 (1834) (not-
`ing that “a right accrues under the act of 1790, from the
`time a copy of the title of the book is deposited in the
`clerk’s office”). The 1790 Act conferred on each author
`a cause of action, “from and after the recording the title
`of any” copyrighted work, through which an infringer
`
`
`
`

`

`3
`
`could be required to forfeit any infringing works and to
`pay damages. 1790 Act § 2, 1 Stat. 124.
`Over the next century, Congress consolidated the
`registration functions within the Library of Congress,
`while maintaining registration as a precondition to copy-
`right protection. In 1870, Congress required each au-
`thor to “deposit in the mail” a copy or description of her
`work for delivery to the Library of Congress before
`publication, so that the Librarian of Congress could
`“record the name of such copyright book, or other arti-
`cle, forthwith in a book to be kept for that purpose.” Act
`of July 8, 1870 (1870 Act), ch. 230, §§ 90-91, 16 Stat. 213.
`The 1870 Act also provided that “no person shall main-
`tain an action for the infringement of his copyright” in
`a work unless he included in the work a notice that it
`had been “[e]ntered according to act of Congress * * *
`in the office of the librarian of Congress, at Washing-
`ton,” § 97, 16 Stat. 214, and it conferred a cause of action
`available “after the recording of the title” of the copy-
`righted work, §§ 99-100, 16 Stat. 214. In 1897, Congress
`established the office of the Register of Copyrights
`within the “Copyright Department” (now the Copyright
`Office) of the Library of Congress and directed the Reg-
`ister to “perform all the duties relating to copyrights.”
`Act of Feb. 19, 1897, ch. 265, 29 Stat. 545.
`In 1909, Congress changed prior law to provide that
`registration was not a precondition to copyright protec-
`tion for published works. See Act of Mar. 4, 1909 (1909
`Act), ch. 320, § 9, 35 Stat. 1077 (“[A]ny person entitled
`thereto by this Act may secure copyright for his work
`by publication thereof with the notice of copyright re-
`quired by this Act.”); Washingtonian Publ’g Co. v.
`Pearson, 306 U.S. 30, 37 (1939). The 1909 Act continued
`to provide for registration of works by the Register of
`
`
`
`

`

`4
`
`Copyrights, 1909 Act §§ 10, 12, 35 Stat. 1078, however,
`and it stated that “[n]o action or proceeding shall be
`maintained for infringement of copyright in any work
`until the provisions of this Act with respect to the de-
`posit of copies and registration of such work shall have
`been complied with,” § 12, 35 Stat. 1078.
`b. The current Copyright Act continues to provide
`for the registration of works by the Register as director
`of the Copyright Office. 17 U.S.C. 408(a), 410. A copy-
`right owner generally “may obtain registration of the
`copyright claim by delivering to the Copyright Office”
`two deposit copies of the work, an application contain-
`ing information about the work, and the application fee.
`17 U.S.C. 408(a) and (b), 409, 708. When the Register
`receives those materials, she “examin[es]” the “mate-
`rial deposited” to determine whether the work “consti-
`tutes copyrightable subject matter” and whether “other
`legal and formal requirements of [the Copyright Act]
`have been met.” 17 U.S.C. 410(a).
`If “after examination” the Register determines that
`the work is copyrightable and that all legal and formal
`requirements are satisfied, “the Register shall register
`the claim and issue to the applicant a certificate of reg-
`istration under the seal of the Copyright Office.”
`17 U.S.C. 410(a). The copyright owner’s original appli-
`cation fee covers the “issuance of a certificate of regis-
`tration if registration is made.” 17 U.S.C. 708(a)(1).
`The Office also creates an official public record of reg-
`istrations, entering into its records catalog the “records
`of * * * registrations” and making public “the articles
`deposited in connection with completed copyright reg-
`istrations.” 17 U.S.C. 705(a) and (b); see U.S. Copyright
`Office, Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices
`§ 209 (3d ed. 2017) (Compendium). Records of post-
`
`
`
`

`

`5
`
`1977 registered works are available on the Internet to
`be searched by the public. See U.S. Copyright Office,
`Public Catalog, http://cocatalog.loc.gov. If the Register
`instead “determines that * * * the material deposited
`does not constitute copyrightable subject matter or that
`the claim is invalid for any other reason, the Register
`shall refuse registration.” 17 U.S.C. 410(b).
`The examination process often involves a dialogue
`between the Copyright Office and the applicant. In the
`course of such correspondence, an owner may clarify
`the scope of his application or may withdraw or other-
`wise abandon his claim. Compendium §§ 605.3(B),
`605.7, 605.9. Depending on the necessary correspond-
`ence and the complexity of the legal issues presented,
`the time to complete this process varies. The average
`time for the Copyright Office to resolve a registration
`application is approximately seven months. See U.S.
`Copyright Office, Registration Processing Times 1,
`https://www.copyright.gov/registration/docs/processing-
`times-faqs.pdf (Registration Processing Times).1 For
`an additional fee, however, an applicant may request
`expedited processing, and “the Office will make every
`attempt to examine the application or the document
`within five working days.” Compendium § 623.4; see
`id. § 623.6; see also 37 C.F.R. 201.3(d)(7) ($800-per-
`
`
`1 After fiscal year 2016, the Copyright Office has “engaged in a
`variety of regulatory reforms that are projected to increase the
`efficiency of various registration, recordation, or licensing activi-
`ties.” 83 Fed. Reg. 24,054, 24,055 (May 24, 2018) (citation omitted).
`Additionally, the Office is modernizing its information-technology
`systems over the next five years. Ibid.; see H.R. Rep. No. 199,
`115th Cong., 1st Sess. 19 (2017) (stating that the “modernization of
`the [Office’s] electronic copyright registration system is of utmost
`importance”).
`
`
`
`

`

`6
`
`application fee for expedited processing). If the Regis-
`ter ultimately grants registration of a work, the effec-
`tive date of that registration is the date on which the
`Copyright Office first received a proper application, de-
`posit, and fee. See 17 U.S.C. 410(d).
`c. Although registration is not a “condition of copy-
`right protection,” 17 U.S.C. 408(a), the current Copy-
`right Act provides a number of incentives for owners to
`seek registration promptly.
`As most relevant here, Section 411(a) states that “no
`civil action for infringement of the copyright in any
`United States work shall be instituted until preregistra-
`tion or registration of the copyright claim has been
`made in accordance with this title.”  17 U.S.C. 411(a).2
`That provision establishes a non-jurisdictional “precon-
`dition to filing a claim” of infringement. Reed Elsevier,
`Inc. v. Muchnick, 559 U.S. 154, 157 (2010). Unless the
`owner has knowingly submitted an inaccurate applica-
`tion, the Register’s issued certificate of registration
`“satisfies the requirements of ” Section 411. 17 U.S.C.
`411(b)(1). Section 411(a) further provides that, “[i]n any
`case, however, where the deposit, application, and fee
`required for registration have been delivered to the
`Copyright Office in proper form and registration has
`been refused, the applicant is entitled to institute a civil
`
`2 In general, “United States work[s]” are works first published
`in the United States or created exclusively by domestic authors.
`17 U.S.C. 101. Amicus International Trademark Association sug-
`gests (Br. 7-13) that Section 411(a) may not satisfy the requirements
`of the Berne Convention. Congress addressed that issue, however,
`by excusing owners of non-United States works from the require-
`ment to register before filing suit. See 17 U.S.C. 411(a); 134 Cong.
`Rec. 28,302-28,303 (1988); see also Pet. Br. 10 n.6. There is no dis-
`pute in this case that the works at issue are “United States work[s].”
`17 U.S.C. 411(a).
`
`
`
`

`

`7
`
`action for infringement if notice thereof, with a copy of
`the complaint, is served on the Register of Copyrights.”
`17 U.S.C. 411(a). Within the 60-day period after such
`notice has been served, the Register may intervene
`“with respect to the issue of registrability of the copy-
`right claim.” Ibid.
`The Copyright Act creates additional incentives for
`prompt submission of applications to register authors’
`works. The Act authorizes awards of statutory dam-
`ages, costs, and attorney’s fees to prevailing copyright
`owners. 17 U.S.C. 504(a)(2) and (c), 505. Subject to lim-
`ited exceptions, however, those remedies are available
`only for acts of infringement commenced after the ef-
`fective date of registration. 17 U.S.C. 412. In addition,
`a “certificate of a registration made before or within five
`years after first publication of the work shall constitute
`prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and
`of the facts stated in the certificate.” 17 U.S.C. 410(c).
`2. Petitioner Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corpora-
`tion generates online news content and licenses its news
`articles to others while retaining ownership of its works.
`Pet. App. 2a, 16a. Respondents Wall-Street.com and its
`owner initially entered into such a licensing agreement
`to display petitioner’s works online. Ibid. That agree-
`ment required respondents to cease displaying those
`works if respondents ever cancelled the agreement. Id.
`at 2a, 18a-19a. Petitioner alleges that respondents can-
`celled their licensing agreement but continued to dis-
`play petitioner’s news articles on their website without
`permission. Ibid.
`In early March 2016, petitioner deposited a number
`of articles with the Copyright Office and submitted an
`application and fee for registration of an automated
`
`
`
`

`

`8
`
`computer database. See App., infra, 3a-4a. “For pur-
`poses of copyright registration, a database is defined as
`a compilation of digital information” where the “selection,
`coordination, and/or arrangement of data or other com-
`ponent elements within the database is sufficiently cre-
`ative to warrant registration.” Compendium §§ 1117.1,
`1117.2. Petitioner did not request expedited processing
`of its copyright claim.
`On March 11, 2016, before the Register had acted on the
`application, petitioner filed this copyright-infringement
`suit. Pet. App. 15a-22a. The complaint stated that pe-
`titioner had filed “applications to register [its] articles
`with the Register of Copyrights immediately prior to
`the filing of this case,” and that petitioner would file the
`certificate of registration with the court when it re-
`ceived the certificate. Id. at 18a. The complaint further
`stated that “when issued by the Register of Copyrights
`the registration certificate will be dated prior to the fil-
`ing of this action.” Ibid. Petitioner sought injunctive
`relief, actual or statutory damages, and attorney’s fees
`and costs. Id. at 21-22a.
`After the commencement of this suit, Copyright Of-
`fice records indicate that the Office sent a letter to the
`contact listed in petitioner’s application, informing him
`that petitioner’s check for the application fee could not
`be processed. App., infra, 1a-2a. A week later, on April
`11, 2016, the Copyright Office received a collectable fee,
`permitting it to examine petitioner’s application mate-
`rials. See id. at 3a-4a.
`3. a. While petitioner’s application for registration
`remained pending, the district court dismissed the com-
`plaint without prejudice. Pet. App. 11a-14a. While rec-
`ognizing that registration is not “a jurisdictional re-
`quirement” for a copyright-infringement suit, the court
`
`
`
`

`

`9
`
`explained that the absence of registration “is nonethe-
`less a procedural bar to infringement claims.” Id. at
`13a. The court rejected petitioner’s argument that hav-
`ing “an application to register * * * pending at the time
`of the suit * * * is sufficient to survive a motion to dis-
`miss.” Ibid.
`b. The court of appeals affirmed. Pet. App. 1a-10a.
`The court held that, for purposes of Section 411(a)’s di-
`rective that no copyright-infringement suit may be in-
`stituted “until preregistration or registration of the
`copyright claim has been made in accordance with this
`title,” 17 U.S.C. 411(a), registration of a copyright “ ‘has
`[not] been made in accordance with . . . title [17]’ * * *
`until ‘the Register . . . registers the claim.’ ” Pet. App.
`6a (quoting 17 U.S.C. 410(a), 411(a)) (brackets in origi-
`nal). The court explained that “[t]he Copyright Act de-
`fines registration as a process that requires action by
`both the copyright owner and the Copyright Office.”
`Ibid. Although the Act requires the owner to commence
`the registration process by submitting a deposit, appli-
`cation, and fee, it directs the Register to “examine[]”
`the submissions and to “determine[]” whether the work
`is copyrightable before approving or refusing registra-
`tion. Ibid. The court concluded that “[f ]iling an appli-
`cation does not amount to registration” as that term is
`used in the Copyright Act, ibid., and that petitioner’s
`arguments grounded in “legislative history and policy”
`could not overcome Section 411(a)’s plain meaning, id.
`at 8a-9a.
`4. In August 2017, after the court of appeals’ man-
`date had issued, Copyright Office records indicate that
`the Office notified petitioner of the Register’s disposi-
`tion of petitioner’s application. App., infra, 3a-9a. The
`
`
`
`

`

`10
`
`Office stated that, if the claim were ultimately regis-
`tered, the effective date of registration would be April
`11, 2016, when a proper fee was received. Id. at 3a-4a.3
`It further explained, however, that the Register was re-
`fusing registration. Id. at 3a.
`Noting that petitioner had sought registration on the
`ground that its news articles comprised a database, the
`Copyright Office explained that the registrability of a
`database, as a type of compilation, depends on whether
`the selection and arrangement of the elements displays
`sufficient originality to qualify as a work of authorship.
`App., infra, 7a (citing Feist Publ’ns, Inc. v. Rural Tel.
`Serv. Co., 499 U.S. 340 (1991)). The Office concluded
`that the selection and arrangement of petitioner’s data-
`base, in which individual articles were arranged in
`chronological order, lacked sufficient originality to war-
`rant registration. Ibid. The Office also noted that the
`articles appeared to be from a news website, and that
`for registration purposes the Compendium distin-
`guishes between websites and databases. Id. at 8a (cit-
`ing Compendium § 1002.6).4
`
`
`3 Petitioner’s application fell within the category of copyright
`claims with the longest processing times. See Registration Pro-
`cessing Times 1. Applications submitted by mail that require fur-
`ther correspondence constitute about two percent of all applica-
`tions. Ibid. The processing time for those applications varies be-
`tween three and 37 months depending on the issues that arise. Ibid.
`4 Petitioner notes (Br. 16) that AHN Feed Syndicate (petitioner’s
`licensee) had previously made “group registration for databases
`containing the same type of material at issue here.” But the merits
`of the Copyright Office’s decision to refuse registration—including
`the relevance of the Office’s recent clarification of the distinction
`between websites and databases—are not at issue in this Court.
`
`
`

`

`11
`
`SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT
`Under Section 411(a) of the Copyright Act, a
`copyright-infringement suit may not be filed until the
`Register of Copyrights has either approved or refused
`registration of the work.
`A. Several aspects of Section 411(a) itself, and of the
`larger statutory scheme, support the court of appeals’
`conclusion that “registration of [a] copyright claim has
`been made,” 17 U.S.C. 411(a), only when the Register
`has approved an application. In this context, the term
`“registration” is naturally read to denote the Register’s
`entry of a claim of copyright into the official register.
`Section 411(a)’s requirement that registration have
`been made “in accordance with this title” reinforces this
`understanding. Although the owner of a copyright ini-
`tiates the registration process by submitting specified
`materials to the Copyright Office, registration “in ac-
`cordance with” Title 17 occurs only “after examination”
`of that submission by the Register, who “determines”
`whether the submission is “acceptable for registration”
`and (if the statutory requirements are satisfied) “regis-
`ter[s] the claim.” 17 U.S.C. 410(a) and (d).
`Section 411(a)’s second and third sentences bolster
`that conclusion. The second sentence’s exception to the
`registration requirement, which allows an infringement
`suit to be commenced when “registration has been re-
`fused,” would be superfluous if “registration” were
`“made” at the moment a copyright owner submits the
`required materials to the Register. And Section
`411(a)’s third sentence, which authorizes the Register
`to intervene in cases