Unregistered Works in Settlement Do Not Bar Court from Exercising Jurisdiction

The inclusion of authors asserting ownership of unregistered works in a class action over the electronic distribution rights of freelance authors does not prevent a federal court from adjudicating the dispute, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled March 2 in an 8-0 decision ( Reed Elsevier Inc. v. Muchnick, U.S., No. 08-103, 3/2/10 ).

Reversing a federal appeals court’s ruling that the presence of unregistered works was a jurisdictional bar to adjudication, the court emphasized that the Copyright Act’s registration requirement constitutes “a precondition to filing a claim that does not restrict a federal court’s subject-matter jurisdiction.”