The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has reaffirmed that a copyright registration is "prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright and the facts stated in the [registration] certificate" under 17 U.S.C. § 410(c) and that a plaintiff challenging the validity of the registration bears the burden of rebutting the facts in the certificate with "some evidence" of invalidity.
In United Fabrics International, Inc. v. C&J Wear, Inc., et al., United Fabrics International ("United") had registered its copyright in a collection of fabric designs it had acquired from a third party. When it discovered C&J Wear, Lucky Kim International and Macy's (collectively, "Macy's") were selling fabric and garments that allegedly infringed one of those designs, it filed suit for copyright infringement.
In its defense, Macy's argued, and the District Court agreed, that the copyright registration was invalid because United had failed to establish its chain of title in the underlying artwork. Thus, the District Court dismissed the case based on United's lack of standing to sue Macy's.
However, because the registration afforded United's registration a presumption of validity, the burden was on Macy's to present "some evidence" of invalidity and to rebut the facts set forth in the registration certificate. Although Macy's made a cogent argument, the Ninth Circuit found it had failed to present evidence to support its position. Thus, it ruled, the District Court erred in dismissing the case.
The court also addressed some of the technical requirements for depositing copies of the copyrighted work with the U.S. Copyright Office, the nuts and bolts of the requirements for registering unpublished collections of works, and the fact that the failure to list a work as a "derivative work" in a copyright application does not necessarily invalidate a subsequent registration absent proof of an intent to defraud the Copyright Office.
The dismissal of United's lawsuit was reversed remanded to the District Court for further proceedings.
The Ninth Circuit's opinion in United Fabrics International, Inc. v. C&J Wear, Inc., et al., 9th Cir. Case No. 09-56499 (2011), is available here.
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