Mere Mistakes Don’t Ax Copyright Registrations, Justices Say (2)

An alleged infringer has to show a registrant knowingly submitted inaccuracies to the Copyright Office to invalidate a copyright registration, the U.S. Supreme Court said in effectively restoring a nearly $800,000 award.

Copyright Act language providing that inaccuracies don’t invalidate a registration if the registrant didn’t know about them doesn’t distinguish between factual and legal inaccuracies, the high court said in a copyright fight between Unicolors Inc. and H&M Hennes & Mauritz LP .

The 6-3 reversal of a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision set a high bar for invalidating registrations, reassuring rightsholders who may have ...