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Page Number: 4.0

Cite as:  595 U. S. ____ (2022) 

1 

Opinion of the Court 

NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the 
preliminary  print  of  the  United  States  Reports.  Readers  are  requested  to 
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash-
ington, D. C. 20543, of any typographical or other formal errors, in order that 
corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

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No. 20–915 
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UNICOLORS, INC., PETITIONER v. 
H&M HENNES & MAURITZ, L. P. 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT 

[February 24, 2022] 

  JUSTICE BREYER delivered the opinion of the Court. 
  A valid copyright registration provides a copyright holder 
with important and sometimes necessary legal advantages.  
It is, for example, a prerequisite for bringing a “civil action 
for  infringement”  of  the  copyrighted  work.    17  U. S. C. 
§411(a).  Additionally, a plaintiff in an infringement action 
normally cannot obtain an award of statutory damages or 
attorney’s fees for infringement that occurred prior to reg-
istration.  §412. 
  To obtain registration, the author of a work must submit 
to the Register of Copyrights a copy of the work and an ap-
plication.  §§408, 409.  The application must provide infor-
mation about the work.  §409.  Some of this information is 
purely factual, but some of it incorporates legal conclusions.  
Ibid.  If the Register determines that the work is copyright-
able and meets other statutory requirements, she will issue 
a  certificate  of  registration.    §410(a).    The  information  on 
this  certificate  reflects  the  information  that  the  copyright 
holder provided on the application.  Ibid. 
  Naturally,  the  information  provided  on  the  application 
for registration should be accurate.  Nevertheless, the Cop-
yright Act provides a safe harbor.  It says that a certificate