ion has been refused, the applicant is entitled to
institute an action for infringement if notice thereof, with a copy of
the complaint, is served on the Register of Copyrights. The Register
may, at his or her option, become a party to the action with respect to
the issue of registrability of the copyright claim by entering an
appearance within sixty days after such service, but the Register's
failure to become a party shall not deprive the court of jurisdiction to
determine that issue.
(b) In the case of a work consisting of sounds, images, or both, the
first fixation of which is made simultaneously with its transmission,
the copyright owner may, either before or after such fixation takes
place, institute an action for infringement under section 501, fully
subject to the remedies provided by sections 502 through 506 and
sections 509 and 510, if, in accordance with requirements that the
Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation, the copyright
owner-
(1) serves notice upon the infringer, not less than 48 hours before such
fixation, identifying the work and the specific time and source of its
first transmission, and declaring an intention to secure copyright in
the work; and
(2) makes registration for the work, if required by subsection (a),
within three months after its first transmission.
Section 412. Registration as prerequisite to certain remedies for
infringement [11]
In any action under this title, other than an action brought for a
violation of the rights of the author under section 106A(a) or an action
instituted under section 411(b), 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(1) any infringement of copyright in an unpublished work commenced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.
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Chapter 4 Endnotes
1 The Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 amended section 401
as follows: 1) in subsection (a), by changing the heading to "General
Provisions" and by inserting "may be placed on" in lieu of "shall be
placed on all"; 2) in subsection (b), by inserting "If a notice appears
on the copies, it" in lieu of "The notice appearing on the copies"; and
3) by adding subsec
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