by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - August 12, 2009 - c. Copyright Infringement On The Internet
The United States Copyright Office has published an interim rule that allows for the elevation of applications that have been pending for six months or more to “special handling” status. Since the switch to eCO, the electronic Copyright Office filing system, the Copyright Office has been backlogged and notoriously slow in evaluating copyright registration applications. Due to this delay, many copyright holders have had to wait long periods of time to receive their registration certificates, which is a prerequisite to the filing of a copyright infringement suit in many jurisdictions.
Typically, a copyright holder must pay an additional fee to have his or her application elevated to “special handling” status. Under this interim rule, a copyright holder can convert a pending application to “special handling” status without paying the additional fee, provided the copyright holder can show that the application has been pending for more than six months and that expedited registration is necessary because the copyright holder is about to file suit for copyright infringement. More information can be found here, in the August 10 issue of the Federal Register.
As a founding partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, he has more than thirty years of experience as an attorney for both established companies and emerging start-ups. His extensive experience includes navigating technology law matters and complex litigation throughout the United States.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.
