Re: SFLC's GPL court enforcement -- track record

[rjack]

Tim Smith wrote:

> (I'm assuming statutory damages would be available, because I'm assuming the 
> copyrights have been registered.  I can't find that registration, but I don't
>  claim to be a good copyright registration searcher.  I assume they have been
>  registered, because if not, every defendant so far would have filed an
> answer to the complaint pointing that out, and the court would have
> immediately dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.  The first time, the court
> would have been amused at the plaintiff overlooking such a basic thing.  But
> aren't they filling subsequent suits in the same court?  The court is not
> going to be amused the second time the same plaintiff brings forth
> essentially the same case with the same flaw.  We'd be seeing sanctions by
> now, probably.  Thus, I infer that the copyrights must be registered).

ASS-U-ME will make an *ASS out of *U* and *ME*.


FN4. See, e.g., Haan Crafts Corp. v. Craft Masters, Inc., 683 F.Supp. 1234, 1242
(N.D.Ind.1988) ("[A] lawsuit for copyright infringement cannot be filed unless
plaintiff has a registered copyright.... This is a jurisdictional requirement
which must be satisfied before a federal court can entertain a copyright
infringement claim."); Demetriades v. Kaufmatin, 680 F.Supp. 658, 661
(S.D.N.Y.1988) ("Receipt of an actual certificate of registration or denial of
same is a jurisdictional requirement, and this court cannot prejudge the
determination to be made by the Copyright Office."); Dodd v. Fort Smith Special
School District No. 100, 666 F.Supp. 1278, 1282 (W.D.Ark.1987) ("Under the
Copyright Act ... registration of the copyright, while not a prerequisite to
having a protectable interest, is a jurisdictional prerequisite to the
initiation of an infringement suit in federal court."); Quincy Cablesystems,
Inc. v. Sully's Bar, Inc., 650 F.Supp. 838, 850 (D.Mass.1986) ("Copyright
registration under § 411(a) is a condition precedent to filing an infringement
action."); Wales Industrial, Inc. v. Hasbro Bradley, Inc., 612 F.Supp. 510, 515
(S.D.N.Y.1985) ("Registration of a copyright claim is a jurisdictional
prerequisite to a suit for infringement."); Conan Properties, Inc. v. Mattel,
Inc., 601 F.Supp. 1179, 1182 (S.D.N.Y.1984) ("Without registration of the
copyrights the suit is barred and absent an allegation that the copyrights have
been registered the complaint is defective."); Techniques, Inc. v. Rohn, 592
F.Supp. 1195, 1197 (S.D.N.Y.1984) ("Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. § 411(a) ... it has
been held repeatedly that ownership of a copyright Registration is a
jurisdictional prerequisite to an action for infringement."); and International
Trade Management, Inc. v. United States, 1 Cl.Ct. 39, 553 F.Supp. 402, 403
(1982) ("A suit for copyright infringement is conditioned on obtaining (or being
denied) a certificate of registration."); M.G.B. HOMES, INC., v. AMERON HOMES
903 F.2d 1486 (United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit 1990)

Sincerely
Rjack

-- The hardest part of fleecing a sucker is convincing him to express his 
gratitude for getting screwed --