9th Circuit: Receipt of application, not issuance of registration certificate, prerequisite to copyright suit

17 U.S.C. § 411(a) provides that "no civil action for infringement of the copyright in any United States work shall be instituted until . . . registration of the copyright claim has been made in accordance with this title." In Cosmetic Ideas, Inc. v. IAC/InteractiveCorp., No. 08-56079 (9th Cir. May 25, 2010), the 9th Circuit held that § 411(a) is satisfied when the Copyright Office receives a completed application, not when it actually issues a certificate of registration. This issue has split the circuits, with the 9th Circuit joining the 5th and 7th against the 10th and 11th.