17 U.S.C. § 412

Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for infringement

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In any action under this title, other than an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a), an action for infringement of the copyright of a work that has been preregistered under section 408(f) before the commencement of the infringement and that has an effective date of registration not later than the earlier of 3 months after the first publication of the work or 1 month after the copyright owner has learned of the infringement, or an action instituted under section 411(c), no award of statutory damages or of attorney’s fees, as provided by sections 504 and 505, shall be made for—(1) any infringement of copyright in an unpublished work commenced before the effective date of its registration; or(2) any infringement of copyright commenced after first publication of the work and before the effective date of its registration, unless such registration is made within three months after the first publication of the work.(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2583; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 606(c)(2), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5131; Pub. L. 109–9, title I, § 104(c), Apr. 27, 2005, 119 Stat. 222; Pub. L. 110–403, title I, § 101(b)(1), Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4258.)Historical and Revision Noteshouse report no. 94–1476

The need for section 412 arises from two basic changes the bill will make in the present law.

(1) Copyright registration for published works, which is useful and important to users and the public at large, would no longer be compulsory, and should therefore be induced in some practical way.

(2) The great body of unpublished works now protected at common law would automatically be brought under copyright and given statutory protection. The remedies for infringement presently available at common law should continue to apply to these works under the statute, but they should not be given special statutory remedies unless the owner has, by registration, made a public record of his copyright claim.

Under the general scheme of the bill, a copyright owner whose work has been infringed before registration would be entitled to the remedies ordinarily available in infringement cases: an injunction on terms the court considers fair, and his actual damages plus any applicable profits not used as a measure of damages. However, section 412 would deny any award of the special or “extraordinary” remedies of statutory damages or attorney’s fees where infringement of copyright in an unpublished work began before registration or where, in the case of a published work, infringement commenced after publication and before registration (unless registration has been made within a grace period of three months after publication). These provisions would be applicable to works of foreign and domestic origin alike.

In providing that statutory damages and attorney’s fees are not recoverable for infringement of unpublished, unregistered works, clause (1) of section 412 in no way narrows the remedies available under the present law. With respect to published works, clause (2) would generally deny an award of those two special remedies where infringement takes place before registration. As an exception, however, the clause provides a grace period of three months after publication during which registration can be made without loss of remedies; full remedies could be recovered for any infringement begun during the three months after publication if registration is made before that period has ended. This exception is needed to take care of newsworthy or suddenly popular works which may be infringed almost as soon as they are published, before the copyright owner has had a reasonable opportunity to register his claim.

Editorial NotesAmendments

2008—Pub. L. 110–403 substituted “section 411(c)” for “section 411(b)” in introductory provisions.

2005—Pub. L. 109–9 inserted “, an action for infringement of the copyright of a work that has been preregistered under section 408(f) before the commencement of the infringement and that has an effective date of registration not later than the earlier of 3 months after the first publication of the work or 1 month after the copyright owner has learned of the infringement,” after “section 106A(a)” in introductory provisions.

1990—Pub. L. 101–650 inserted “an action brought for a violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a) or” after “other than” in introductory provisions.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1990 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 101–650 effective 6 months after Dec. 1, 1990, see section 610 of Pub. L. 101–650, set out as an Effective Date note under section 106A of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 368 cases (103 in the last 5 years), 1982–2026 · leading case: Graham v. Prince, 265 F. Supp. 3d 366 (S.D.N.Y. 2017).

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Graham v. Prince, 265 F. Supp. 3d 366 (S.D.N.Y. 2017). · cites it 7× “Subject to a statutory grace period not relevant here, 17 U.S.C. § 412 (2) precludes recovery of either statutory damages or attorneys’ fees for “any infringement of copyright commenced after first publication of the work and before the effective date of its registration.”

Fischer v. Forrest, 286 F. Supp. 3d 590 (S.D. Ill. 2018). · cites it 3× “" Solid Oak Sketches, LLC , 2016 WL 4126543 at *2 (citing 17 U.S.C. § 412 and Knitwaves, Inc. v. Lollytogs Ltd.”

Knitwaves, Inc., Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant v. Lollytogs Ltd. (Inc.) D/B/A French Toast, Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee, 71 F.3d 996 (2d Cir. 1995). · cites it 4× “See 17 U.S.C. § 412 . Consequently, Knitwaves elected actual damages of $13,-221.”

Derek Andrew, Inc. v. Poof Apparel Corp., 528 F.3d 696 (9th Cir. 2008). · cites it 3× “Title 17 U.S.C. § 412 (2) leaves no room for discretion, however.”

On Davis v. The Gap, Inc., 246 F.3d 152 (2d Cir. 2001). · cites it 2× “But when the 1976 Act made statutory damages less widely available, explicitly denying them to copyright owners who had not registered their copyright at the time of the infringement, see 17 U.S.C. § 412 , the reason supporting the Widenski court’s ruling disappeared.”

U-Neek, Inc. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 147 F. Supp. 2d 158 (S.D.N.Y. 2001). · cites it 4× “Attorney’s Fees Defendants also contend that U-Neek cannot recover attorney’s fees under the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 412 . (Def. Mem. at 15-16). Defendants assert that U-Neek’s remedies are limited with respect to both the Zing Designs and Vignette Designs because, following…”

Zito v. Steeplechase Films, Inc., 267 F. Supp. 2d 1022 (N.D. Cal. 2003). · cites it 5× “Second, defendants argue that under 17 U.S.C. § 412 plaintiffs failure to register his photograph before the alleged infringement commenced precludes plaintiff from seeking statutory damages or attorney’s fees.”

Whelan Assocs., Inc. v. Jaslow Dental Lab'y, Inc., 609 F. Supp. 1325 (E.D. Pa. 1985). · cites it 6× “§ 412 , provides that in such an action no attorney’s fees shall be made for: (1) any infringement of copyright in an unpublished work commenced before the effective date of its registration; or (2) any infringement of copyright commenced after first publication of the work and…”

Getaped. Com, Inc. v. Cangemi, 188 F. Supp. 2d 398 (S.D.N.Y. 2002). · cites it 4× “” 17 U.S.C. § 412 . Judge Ellis concluded that plaintiff was entitled neither to statutory damages nor attorney’s fees.”

Jack MacKie v. Bonnie Rieser Seattle Symphony Orchestra Pub. Benefit Corp., a Washington Nonprofit Corp., 296 F.3d 909 (9th Cir. 2002). · cites it 2× “17 U.S.C. § 412 (2). Instead, he was left to pursue claims for indirect profits and actual damages.”

Jane Doe No. 1 v. Backpage.Com, LLC, 817 F.3d 12 (1st Cir. 2016). “See 17 U.S.C. § 412 ; Johnson v. Gordon, 409 F.”

Ez-Tixz, Inc. v. Hit-Tix, Inc., 919 F. Supp. 728 (S.D.N.Y. 1996). · cites it 4× “17 U.S.C. § 412 ; see Knitwaves, Inc. v. Lollytogs Ltd.”

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— 17 U.S.C. § 412(2) — 2 cases

L Ald LLC v. Gray (S.D. Cal. 2025).

Gray (S.D. Cal. 2025).

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