The Biggest Copyright Rulings of 2022

Ben Fox spoke to Law360 about the Supreme Court ruling in Unicolors v. H&M, which held that a lack of factual or legal knowledge can excuse mistakes on copyright registrations, for an article discussing the top copyright rulings of 2022.

According to Ben, the case is significant because it extends protections to those who aren’t lawyers, who the court held may be forgiven for their “often esoteric” legal mistakes in completing copyright application forms.

“Going forward, a copyright applicant’s ‘knowledge’ of a mistake in a registration means ‘actual, subjective awareness of both the facts and the law,’” he said.

The ruling also invites litigants to “marshal circumstantial evidence to show that the copyright applicant was actually aware of, or willfully blind to, inaccurate information,” including by referring to the registrant’s relevant experience, Ben said, adding: “Lawyers and subject matter experts filing applications may be held to a higher standard.”

Read the full article.