What 11th Circ. Guitar Ruling Means For Copyright Litigants

From the world of heavy metal rock-and-roll comes an important lesson for both putative copyright owners and accused infringers. If the accused infringer believes that the putative owner does not actually own the rights in the asserted copyright, it must speak up and repudiate ownership. Once that happens, the accuser must act within three years. If it doesn't, its claim is barred.

In a recent decision of first impression, the  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit joined seven of its sister circuits in adopting the rule that copyright ownership claims accrue only once for purposes of the statute of limitations under the Copyright Act.¹

Not only does this rule clarify the copyright statute of limitations in the Eleventh Circuit, but it further solidifies the growing and consistent body of law holding that copyright ownership claims accrue only once, even though copyright infringement claims accrue each time a new infringement occurs.