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Statute of Limitations In Copyright Ownership Disputes: Questions from the Everly Brothers Case
Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Everly Brothers had a string of hits: "Bye Bye Love," "Wake Up Little Susie," "All I Have to Do Is Dream," and many more. Don and Phil Everly's flawless harmonies regrettably ended in acrimony.
In Everly v. Everly, 958 F.3d 442, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 14212 (6th Cir. May 4, 2020), the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in a dispute between Don and Phil's heirs over ownership of the No. 1 hit "Cathy's Clown." The district court granted summary judgment to Don, finding the claim that Phil also authored the song was time barred. The Sixth Circuit reversed and remanded finding genuine issues of fact as to whether Don expressly repudiated Phil's authorship of the song more than three years before the filing of the action.
While the case is perhaps otherwise unremarkable, Judge Murphy, in his concurrence, raises important questions about when the statute of limitations should begin to run in copyright cases and whether courts have been correctly applying the law.
Copyright Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations for civil copyright actions is three years as set forth in Section 507 of the Act. The Act provides, "No civil action shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within three years after the claim accrued." 17 U.S.C. §507(b).
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