A Supreme Court Review and an Update on an Abbey

In August of last year, this office reported on a case centering on a copyrighted work uniquely commissioned by a brewery and an abbey. In that case, pro se plaintiff Cynthia Foss (“Foss”) brought suit against Spencer Brewery and St. Joseph’s Abbey for using the works “Refectory Long Stain Glass Wall” and “Cross Wall” created by her in “two separate photos that [were] displayed and distributed electronically” on Northeastern’s website and social media platforms. The case was later removed to a federal district court where the Supreme Court’s March ruling has resulted in Foss’s copyright claims being dismissed.

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.Com, LLC,139 S.Ct. 881 (2019), addressed the procedural requirements for bringing a copyright suit. Section 411(a) of the Copyright Act requires that “preregistration or registration” of the copyrighted work be made with the Copyright Office before an infringement suit may be brought. Circuits courts have been split on the interpretation of this requirement. Some courts interpreted the statute to mean that a copyright owner must have applied for and met all the requirements for registration and that the Copyright Office must have issued their determination on registration. Others interpreted the statute to mean that copyright owner must have applied for and met all the requirements for registration, but they did not require that the copyright owner wait for a determination by the Copyright Office before filing suit. SCOTUS’s March 4 ruling clarified that the first interpretation is the correct approach.

Unfortunately for the artist in the brewery case, although she had filed for registration before filing suit, she did not have an issued registration from the Copyright Office, and as such, her case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it is possible she can bring suit again when she has met all the requirements.