Supreme Court Considers Whether Copyright Damages Can Reach Beyond a Three‑Year Lookback

The Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in Warner Chappell Music v. Neely over whether copyright plaintiffs may recover damages for alleged infringements that occurred more than three years before a lawsuit was filed. "This case presents the question whether a copyright plaintiff can recover damages for acts that allegedly occurred more than 3 years before the filing of suit," petitioner's counsel Mister Shanmugam told the justices.

Shanmugam framed the dispute as a plain‑text question of statutory interpretation. He urged the court to read the accrual language in section 507(b) of Title 17 to mean a claim "accrues when the plaintiff has a complete cause of action," and to limit retrospective damages to acts that occurred within three years of filing. He said Petrella's references to a three‑year limitation were rooted in that statutory framework and argued the discovery‑accrual rule recognized in some circuits should be…