A recent lawsuit against actor and comedian Marlon Wayans underscores the practical value created by  securing a copyright registration early and the associated risk doing so creates for a third-party user. 

Wayans is being sued by a photographer for posting her image in a Facebook reel. The image was shown briefly and in a pixelated state, accompanied by a humorous headline and Wayans shaking his head. If he considered it at all, Wayans likely thought this to be a non-issue.

But the owner had registered the photo with the Copyright Office months before Wayans posted it. That registration allows her to bring suit and to seek statutory damages and attorneys’ fees, regardless of whether she can show any real market harm or economic loss.

Without a timely registration, a copyright owner must prove actual damages. But once a registration is in place and assuming it predates the infringement, the door opens to statutory damages from as low as $200 per infringement where the infringement is “innocent,” and up to $150,000 where it is “willful.” 

An award of statutory damages in a case like this could be modest, especially given the fleeting and arguably transformative nature of the use. But perhaps more significant is that a timely registration unlocks the potential for the prevailing party to recover attorneys’ fees. That prospect alone can shift the litigation calculus, increasing pressure on the defendant to settle and making it financially feasible for a copyright owner to pursue even a low-dollar claim.

Wayans may ultimately be able to argue fair use or raise other defenses, but the case illustrates how registration can turn a legally shaky or low-value dispute into one with real litigation leverage. For creators, the lesson is simple.  Register works promptly. It’s one of the few proactive steps that can turn a minor grievance into a viable legal claim.  And for those using others' content without permission, think twice even where the work and the use seem insignificant.