Supreme Court rules in favor of plaintiff in copyright infringement case
On May 19, the US Supreme Court decided in favor of Paula Petrella in the copyright infringement case Petrella v Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., stating that laches “cannot be invoked as a bar to Petrella’s pursuit of a claim for damages brought within…the three-year window.”
(Laches means that a legal right or claim will not be enforced if a long delay in asserting the right or claim has hurt the opposing party as a sort of “legal ambush.”)
“This Supreme Court decision resolves an issue that had been the subject of debate for decades and removes once and for all one of the defenses that had historically been raised to defeat copyright infringement claims,” said Stephen Gillen, an attorney with Wood Herron & Evans LLP. “Authors are now in a slightly better position when it comes to policing the unauthorized use of their copyrighted works.”
Read the court’s full opinion.
Share this:
Please note that all content on this site is copyrighted by the Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA). Individual articles may be reposted and/or printed in non-commercial publications provided you include the byline (if applicable), the entire article without alterations, and this copyright notice: “© 2024, Textbook & Academic Authors Association (TAA). Originally published on the TAA Blog, Abstract on [Date, Issue, Number].” A copy of the issue in which the article is reprinted, or a link to the blog or online site, should be mailed to Kim Pawlak P.O. Box 337, Cochrane, WI 54622 or Kim.Pawlak @taaonline.net.