The following note discusses the registration requirement under the Copyright Act and its interplay with the Berne Convention’s prohibition of formalities. Part I explains the recent division between the United States Circuit Courts of Appeals and provides an in-depth analysis of the application and registration approaches. Part II details the Supreme Court’s adoption of the registration approach in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC. Part III gives a brief history of the Berne Convention and examines registration under Berne as a nonessential formality. Finally, Part IV offers a proposed long-term solution to amend the Copyright Act by making registration a truly permissive formality and eliminating registration as a prerequisite to file suit for the infringement of United States works
