MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => Image Sleuth => Topic started by: RacePhoto on February 08, 2013, 11:38
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http://preview.tinyurl.com/a6k8loz (http://preview.tinyurl.com/a6k8loz) <--Tiny URL Preview - Link to full document --> http://tinyurl.com/a6k8loz (http://tinyurl.com/a6k8loz)
NORTH JERSEY MEDIA GROUP INC., Plaintiff, v. VICTOR E. SASSON, Defendant.
Subject "Hackensack Chief of Police Ken Zisa" case photos used in a blog.
Read the entire document if you care, here's the pinch line... (bold is mine)
And because, consistent with other cases in the District of New Jersey, this Court adopts the "registration approach" for NJMG's claims of copyright infringement of the Zisa Works, it follows that until NJMG holds a certificate of copyright registration for the Zisa Article, the Zisa Photograph, or the Tiernan Photograph, NJMG cannot state a prima facie claim of copyright infringement for any of those works. Accordingly, Defendant's motion to dismiss Counts Two, Three and Four will be GRANTED.
This goes against the protection after registration law, but in another way, means to make a claim, one must have a verified document proving registration. Works both ways. Claiming to have registered something and not having the completed documentation seems to be the problem here. No evidence that the registration will be in effect in the future, no proof that it's valid right now. I think the plaintiff can come back to court again, after the registration is validated.
Reminder, if you don't have a copyright registration, you can't get statutory damages, legal fees or court costs.
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Thanks for posting, good to know.
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This seems to be a pretty stupid ruling. As far as I know, the registration process, though slow, is more or less automatic. No human actually looks at the image and decides this is a unique work and rejects an application. If that is the case, why force the person whose work has been infringed to wait a year before filing a suit for an automatic administrative process to grind away?