Copyright Disputes in Federal Court

<h2>Copyright Litigation</h2><p>Copyright infringement claims are filed exclusively in federal court under 28 U.S.C. § 1338. The Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. §§ 101-1332) protects original works of authorship including literary works, music, software, visual art, and architectural works.</p><h2>Elements of Copyright Infringement</h2><ul><li><strong>Ownership:</strong> Plaintiff owns a valid copyright (registration required before filing suit per <em>Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com</em>)</li><li><strong>Copying:</strong> Defendant copied protected elements of the work</li><li><strong>Substantial similarity:</strong> The copied elements are substantially similar to the original</li></ul><h2>Fair Use Defense</h2><p>The fair use doctrine (17 U.S.C. § 107) permits limited use of copyrighted material without permission for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Courts apply a four-factor balancing test.</p>