Thompson v. Hubbard

Thompson v. Hubbard
Thompson v. Hubbard
	Supreme Court of the United States
Submitted April 17, 1889; Decided May 13, 1889
Full case name	Thompson v. Hubbard
Citations	131 U.S. 123 (more) 9 S. Ct. 710; 33 L. Ed. 76
Holding
	A later owner of a copyright is entitled to sue a previous owner for copyright infringement. However, the later owner's failure to observe formalities voids copyright and a nonexistent copyright cannot be infringed.
Court membership
	Chief Justice Melville Fuller Associate Justices Samuel F. Miller · Stephen J. Field; Joseph P. Bradley · John M. Harlan; Horace Gray · Samuel Blatchford; Lucius Q. C. Lamar II
Case opinion
Majority	Blatchford, joined by unanimous

Thompson v. Hubbard, 131 U.S. 123 (1889), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a later owner of a copyright is entitled to sue a previous owner for copyright infringement. However, the later owner's failure to observe formalities voids copyright and a nonexistent copyright cannot be infringed.^[1]