Trademark And Copyright Update - March 2024

Supreme Court Considers Whether Copyright Plaintiffs May Recover Damages for Infringing Acts Occurring Outside the Copyright Act's Three-Year Statute of Limitations

The Supreme Court recently heard argument in a case that stands to have significant implications for the scope of damages available in a copyright case. In Nealy v. Warner Chappel Music, Inc., the Court is asked to decide whether, under the discovery rule, a copyright plaintiff can recover damages for infringing acts that occurred outside the Copyright Act's three-year statute of limitations. The discovery rule generally measures the limitations period from when the plaintiff discovered or reasonably should have discovered its claim, whereas the injury rule measures the limitations period in a copyright case from the act of infringement. The defendant seeks reversal of the Eleventh Circuit's holding that, where a plaintiff timely commences suit under the discovery rule, the Copyright Act's