01 Aug Statute of Limitations for Copyright Infringement – US Supreme Court Decision in Warner Chappell V. Nealy
In May 2024, the Supreme Court determined that the US Copyright Act entitles a copyright owner to obtain money damages for any timely filed infringement claim, no matter when the infringement occurred. The three-year statute of limitations begins when the claim accrues. But there is no separate provision in the Copyright Act limiting damages to that same three-year period.
Since the Copyright Act’s provisions governing remedies merely state that the infringer is liable for either statutory damages or the owner’s actual damages and the infringer’s profits and makes no mention of the time period for recovery, SCOTUS concludes that if the claim is timely filed, damages for infringement are recoverable no matter when the infringement occurred. “Timely filed” in this case, means filed within three years of the discovery of the infringement without regard to how long the infringement was ongoing.
The court clarified its decision in an earlier case, Petrella v. MGM in which the court said plaintiffs in that case could “gain retrospective relief running only three years back from” the filing of the suit. But that line in the case only addressed the issue as it arose in Petrella, where the plaintiff had long known of the defendant’s infringing conduct and did not file suit within three years of the discovery of the infringement. In that circumstance, the plaintiff could not avail herself of the discovery rule to recover for infringements more than three years old.
In Nealy, the plaintiff filed suit within three years of his discovery of the conduct, not after that three-year period. Therefore, the court held, Petrella was not controlling, and the plaintiff in Nealy could recover damages t=for the entire period of infringement, not just the last three years.
Practice Tip: If you own a copyright that has been infringed, be certain you file suit within three years of the discovery of the infringement, so damages may be recovered for the entire period of infringement, not just the last three years.
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