In a significant ruling on Tuesday, the D.C. Circuit court announced a crucial decision concerning a niche publisher of gothic literature and the U.S. Copyright Office. The court concluded that the Copyright Office’s insistence for the publisher to submit physical copies of every new publication to the Library of Congress, under the threat of immense fines, constituted an unconstitutional seizure of the publisher’s property.
This decision comes after the Copyright Office demanded that the publisher could risk facing thousands of dollars in fines if it failed to submit physical printings of its new releases to the Library of Congress. The D.C. Circuit Court’s ruling ultimately sided with the publisher, denoting that compelling the publisher to routinely provide physical copies infringed upon its property rights.
A detailed analysis of the case and the court’s resultant decision can be found on the original article provided by Law360.