Jennifer Tulley Architect, Inc. v. Shin

2 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 3 NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 5 JENNIFER TULLEY ARCHITECT, INC., Case No. 21-cv-00619-AGT 6 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO 7 v. DISMISS 8 JEANNIE SHIN, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 13 9 Defendants.

10 The Court agrees with defendant Shin that plaintiff prematurely filed its copyright- || infringement claim and that the claim isn’t currently ripe for review. Before plaintiff may sue for || infringement, the U.S. Copyright Office must either register or preregister the copyright at issue.

13 See 17 U.S.C. § 411(a); Fourth Est. Pub. Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC, 139 S. Ct. 881, || 887-88, 892 (2019); id at 887 (noting that “registration is akin to an administrative exhaustion 15 || requirement”). Neither of these events has occurred, and plaintiff admits that it is still “awaiting a 16 || registration.” Compl. { 1; accord Opp’n, ECF No. 16 at 8. As plaintiff's infringement claim 17 || cannot currently proceed, the Court grants Shin’s motion to dismiss it. Plaintiff may seek leave to || amend its complaint to replead the infringement claim if registration or preregistration is obtained.

19 Plaintiff's complaint also includes a number of state-law claims that arise out of the same || course of conduct as the infringement claim. Shin has moved to dismiss these claims as well. She || has also moved to strike a demand for punitive damages associated with one or more of the state- || law claims. Having determined that the infringement claim cannot move forward at this time, the || Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state-law claims. If the infringement || claim later becomes viable, plaintiff may replead the state-law claims. Shin may then reassert her || arguments for dismissal of those claims and her request to strike the demand for punitive damages.

26 IT IS SO ORDERED. □ □ 27 Dated: March 11, 2021 ALEX G. TSE 28 United States Magistrate Judge