Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Ohio

Re: Copyright

Not getting the copyright registered is the most common defect in US Copyright, since no action for infringement may be brought until the copyright is registered (See Section 411 of the Act http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/507.html ).

Copyright is automatic, but registration is not. Not enforcing the copyright against infringements is another common defect, which may run afoul of the 3 year statute of limitations for copyright actions under Section 507 of the Act (see http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/507.html) .

If your question is prompted by a desire to invalidate someone else's copyright registration, that does not typically occur until a charge of infringement is made, and the invalidation attack is normally based on facts suggesting the author is not the true author.