On February 21, 2024, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy, a case focusing on the availability of damages for copyright infringement. At issue is whether a copyright plaintiff may obtain retrospective relief for infringing acts that occurred more than three years before the plaintiff filed suit. Importantly, the issue before the Court necessarily assumes that plaintiff’s suit is timely under the Copyright Act’s statute of limitations and the so-called “discovery rule.” This rule provides that a copyright claim is timely if it is filed within three years after the claim was or reasonably should have been discovered. Although almost all Circuit Courts of Appeal apply the discovery rule to copyright infringement claims, it is not clear whether a copyright plaintiff invoking this rule may obtain damages for infringing acts that occurred more than three years before filing suit. For example, if the infringing act occurred in 2000, but the copyright plaintiff did not discover the infringement until 2020, and then the plaintiff timely, under the discovery rule, brought suit in 2022, would the plaintiff be entitled to damages stretching back to 2000?
