Copyright — registration

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Copyright — registration

Registration of a sculpture is prima facie evidence of a valid copyright.

“Neri is the plaintiff, and a plaintiff who fails to put essential information into the record usually loses, but she has the benefit of the Register’s certificate, which gives her claim at least prima facie support. 17 U.S.C. §410(c). This means that the defense needed to show why the court should disregard the registration, and absence of evidence redounds to the defense’s detriment.”

“The magistrate judge thought that only a single bound book or booklet is an ‘orderly’ way to present photographs of sculptures. If, as Neri contends, the Hughes sculpture is in the booklet, then this understanding implies that the registration is valid. What is more, we do not see why only a single document can be orderly. The Register did not say so, either in issuing the regulation or in evaluating Neri’s submission. The Register found the submission adequate; a district court should not set aside an agency’s application of its own regulations without a strong reason.”

Vacated and Remanded.

12-3204 Neri v. Monroe

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Crocker, Mag. J., Easterbrook, J.