Copyright infringement claims require that the plaintiff satisfy two fundamental elements: 1) the plaintiff must show that they are the owner of a valid copyright, and 2) the plaintiff must show that the defendant has copied those constituent elements of the copyrighted work that are defined as original. As such, determining ownership of a valid copyright is a critical task in any copyright infringement lawsuit.
If you are a plaintiff, for example, you will have to demonstrate that you are the owner of a valid copyright in order to entitle you to damages for non-permitted copying. On the other hand, if you are a defendant, you will benefit from introducing evidence that the plaintiff is not the owner of a valid copyright, or alternatively, by showing that you are the true owner of the copyright at-issue and therefore entitled to freely use and manipulate your own copyright.
If you believe that your copyright has been infringed, or if you are defending against a claim of copyright infringement, it’s important that you be able to prove that you are the owner of a valid copyright. Proving copyright ownership can be challenging, however. As such, it’s worth consulting with an intellectual property law firm in Washington DC with a history of securing favorable results for clients in copyright litigation.
Assessing ownership and validity of a copyright may seem fairly straightforward upon first impression, but depending on the circumstances, the various issues can become quite complicated. To understand how a valid copyright (and ownership thereof) is determined, it’s important to grasp the basics.
Let’s take a brief look.
Ownership of a Valid Copyright — Basic Elements
A plaintiff must prove that they are the owner of a valid copyright by demonstrating that the purportedly copyrighted material at-issue is original. If the plaintiff’s work is original (and they have not transferred ownership or derivative rights to another party, or if they are the legal recipient of such rights), then that originality will — in and of itself — give rise to valid copyright in the United States.
What is deemed original?
In the copyright context, originality is generally defined as work that was independently created (in other words, not copied from other works) and that exhibits some minimal degree of creativity. These are essentially fact-based considerations, and the court will take into account the total circumstances when determining whether the work exhibits the necessary creativity and level of independent creation to be deemed original for the purpose of copyright validity.
Registering Copyright
Copyright is granted upon creation — registration is unnecessary. However, it’s important to note that plaintiffs cannot bring a copyright infringement claim without first registering their copyright.
Copyright registration creates a legal presumption of ownership of a valid copyright, though it does not suffice as proof of validity. Instead, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant, who will have to prove that the copyright is not valid, or is not owned by the plaintiff. Copyright registration may also grant the plaintiff an opportunity to pursue statutory damages.
