Imagine the initiation of a copyright infringement action involving a published novel. The plaintiff has claimed to the court that an application to register the copyright for the novel was submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office on February 4, 2019, and initiated suit on February 7. Her complaint alleges that the defendant unlawfully infringed the work on December 15, 2018. Her application to register the copyright for the novel states that it was published on November 19, 2018. At this point in the proceedings, the district court judge and the defendant might assume they are dealing with a lawfully registered copyright.