Certificate of registration

At the trial of a copyright infringement claim, the plaintiff typically proves the existence of a valid copyright by introducing a certificate of registration. The certificate's probative value depends on whether the work was registered earlier or later than five years after the work was first published. A certificate of registration "made before or within five years after first publication of the work shall constitute prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright." after which the plaintiff may rebut with evidence showing that the certificate is genuine, the registration was properly obtained, or otherwise that the copyright is valid. If the work was registered more than five years after its first publication, the certificate's probative value is left to the court's discretion.

Although producing a copyright certificate is the preferred method of proving validity and ownership of a valid copyright, it is not the only way to do so. The parties can stipulate to the copyrights' validity. Courts may also take judicial notice of a work's copyright registration. For instance, the plaintiff could introduce testimony regarding the copyright owner's creation and fixation of the work, evidence that the work is original, and that it was not a work for hire created for someone else.