Question:
In 1997, Cosmetic Ideas, Inc., dba Sweet Romance Jewelry Manufacturing, created a piece of costume jewelry known as the “Lady Caroline Lorgnette” and began manufacturing and selling copies of the necklace in 1999 through various stores and websites. Sometime between 2005 and 2008, IAC/ Interactivecorp. dba, Home Shopping Network ( HSN), began manufacturing and distributing copies of a “virtually identical” necklace. On March 6, 2008, Cosmetic submitted an application to the Copyright Office for registration of its copyright in the necklace. On March 27, 2008, Cosmetic filed suit against HSN for infringing its copyright in the necklace. Although the Copyright Office ultimately issued a registration certificate for the necklace, it did not do so before Cosmetic filed its suit against HSN. The district court granted HSN’s motion to dismiss on the grounds that there was no valid copyright. Cosmetic appealed. What should the court decide and why? [ Cosmetic Ideas, Inc. v. IAC/ Interactivecorp, 606 F. 3d 612 ( 9th Cir. 2010).]