Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/18pdf/17-571_e29f.pdf
Page Number: 10

Cite as:  586 U. S. ____ (2019) 

7 

Opinion of the Court 

tration.  Preregistration, as noted supra, at 3–4, allows the 
author  of  a  work  vulnerable  to  predistribution  infringe-
ment to enforce her exclusive rights in court before obtain-
ing registration or refusal thereof.  A copyright owner who 
fears prepublication infringement would have no reason to 
apply  for  preregistration,  however,  if  she  could  instead 
simply complete an application for registration and imme-
diately  commence  an  infringement  suit.    Cf.  TRW  Inc.  v. 
Andrews, 534 U. S. 19, 29 (2001) (rejecting an interpreta-
tion  that  “would  in  practical  effect  render  [a  provision]
superfluous in all but the most unusual circumstances”). 

B 
Challenging  the  Eleventh  Circuit’s  judgment,  Fourth
Estate  primarily  contends  that  the  Copyright  Act  uses 
“the phrase ‘make registration’ and its passive-voice coun-
terpart  ‘registration  has  been  made’ ”  to  describe  submis-
sions by the copyright owner, rather than Copyright Office 
responses  to  those  submissions.  Brief  for  Petitioner  21. 
Section  411(a)’s  requirement  that  “registration  . . .  has 
been  made  in  accordance  with  this  title,”  Fourth  Estate 
insists,  most  likely  refers  to  a  copyright  owner’s  compli-
ance  with  the  statutory  specifications  for  registration
applications.  In  support,  Fourth  Estate  points  to  Copy-
right  Act  provisions  that  appear  to  use  the  phrase  “make
registration”  or  one  of  its  variants  to  describe  what  a 
copyright  claimant  does.    See  id.,  at  22–26  (citing  17 
U. S. C.  §§110,  205(c),  408(c)(3),  411(c),  412(2)).    Further-
more,  Fourth  Estate  urges  that  its  reading  reflects  the 
reality  that,  eventually,  the  vast  majority  of  applications
are granted.  See Brief for Petitioner 41. 

Fourth  Estate  acknowledges,  however,  that  the  Copy-
right Act sometimes uses “registration” to refer to activity
by  the  Copyright  Office,  not  activity  undertaken  by  a 
copyright  claimant.    See  id.,  at  27–28  (citing  17  U. S. C. 
§708(a)).  Fourth  Estate  thus  agrees  that,  to  determine