In Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy (May 9, 2024), a 6-3 Supreme Court held that a copyright owner with a timely claim may recover damages for infringement no matter how long ago it occurred — while pointedly leaving the validity of the discovery rule itself undecided.
The Supreme Court held that the Seventh Amendment guarantees a jury trial on statutory copyright damages — including the amount itself — reshaping how infringement awards are decided.
The Supreme Court held that the equitable defense of laches cannot bar a copyright damages claim filed within the Act's three-year limitations period — a decision that reoriented how delay is policed in infringement remedies.
On the second trip to the Supreme Court, Kirtsaeng resolved how district courts should weigh a losing party's litigating position when awarding attorneys' fees under § 505 of the Copyright Act.
