What is the right time to sue for copyright? Fourth Estate v. Wall Street

Wall-Street.com published articles under a license from Fourth Estate, but declined to take the articles down once the license expired. Fourth Estate sued, arguing copyright infringement.

Although copyright exists from the moment of creation, the law requires that to bring a lawsuit, a person must obtain a copyright registration from the copyright office.

While the registration had been applied for, it had not yet been granted at the time the lawsuit was filed.

The question is whether the mere filing was sufficient, or whether actual registration was required. There was a split on this among the lower courts.

How will the Supreme Court resolve the dispute? Is an application the same thing as registration for a lawsuit? Today, we find out!