Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of Safe Harbor Provision for Copyright Registration

On February 24, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L.P. (2022). At issue in the case is the meaning of Copyright Act Section 411(b), which is a procedural provision for copyright registration that functions as a safe harbor in the event that the copyright registration application includes inaccurate information. Section 411(b)(1)(A) provides that a copyright registration application is valid regardless of whether it contains any inaccurate information, unless "the inaccurate information was included on the application for copyright registration with knowledge that it was inaccurate."  

The Ninth Circuit narrowly interpreted Section 411(b) to mean that the safe harbor only saves a copyright registration from invalidation for failure to understand the law, but not for failure to understand the facts. But the Supreme Court reversed the Ninth Circuit and determined that Section 411(b)'s safe harbor encompasses both mistakes of law and mistakes of fact. 

As the Supreme Court stated, "[l]ack of knowledge of either fact or law can excuse an inaccuracy in a copyright registration." However, the court did note its recognition in civil cases that willful blindness may support a finding of actual knowledge. 

 

Copyright registration is important because it is a prerequisite to filing civil copyright infringement claims. Registration also entitles a copyright owner to statutory damages and attorney's fees. Free State Foundation President Randolph May and I discuss aspects of civil copyright enforcement in chapter 8 of our book Modernizing Copyright Law for the Digital Age: Constitutional Foundations for Reform (Carolina Academic Press, 2020).