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11th Circuit Joins Controversy Among Circuits on Copyright Damages Look Back

By Michael A. Mora
April 01, 2023

The federal appellate court in Atlanta, GA, in a case of first impression "that has divided our sister courts" over the U.S. Copyright Act's §507(b) statute of limitations on recovering damages beyond three years of a copyright lawsuit filing, just added to that division. Sherman Nealy v. Warner Chappell Music Inc., 21-13232 (11th Cir. 2023).

The case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has pitted the plaintiffs-appellants Sherman Nealy and Music Specialist Inc. against the defendants-appellees Warner Chappell Music Inc. and Artist Publishing Group LLC.

"We hold that, when a copyright plaintiff has a timely claim under the discovery accrual rule for infringement that occurred more than three years before the lawsuit was filed, the plaintiff may recover damages for that infringement," Eleventh Circuit Judges Charles Wilson, Adalberto Jordan and Andrew Brasher ruled, in accord with the Ninth Circuit in California. See, Starz Entertainment LLC v. MGM Domestic Television Distribution LLC, 39 F.4th 1236 (9th Cir. 2022).

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