Title: Criminal Prosecution for Copyright Infringement of Unregistered Works: A Bite at an Unripe Apple?
Abstract: The increase in global computer connectivity has enabled infringers to copy authors' works and distribute these copies more quickly than ever. Because of this increased connectivity, infringers can now easily distribute copies of works, e.g., bootleg copies of movies, before those works are even publicly released. To combat this increase in pre-release infringement, the copyright laws now – for the first time – permit civil actions for infringement of works that have not been formally registered with the United States Copyright Office. Although no court case has squarely addressed this issue, there is some suggestion that the copyright laws also permit criminal prosecutions for infringement of unregistered works. This Article suggests that the relevant statutes and case law in fact establish that such prosecutions are improper because (1) the prosecutions ignore the established linkage between civil and criminal copyright law; (2) the language of the relevant statutes contains an ambiguity that must be construed in favor of defendants under the rule of lenity; and (3) such prosecutions fail to accord proper deference to the role of the Copyright Office. This Article also proposes several solutions to the problem of infringement of unregistered works, which solutions account for the basic administrative principles underlying copyright law while also providing clear guidance for copyright owners and for government prosecutors.
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-08-01
Language: en
Type: article
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