Discovery Rule Dodge Puts Justices’ Damages Ruling on Thin Ice

The US Supreme Court’s narrow decision allowing damages for belatedly discovered copyright infringement avoided a bigger question and largely preserved a status quo that at least three justices appear itching to overturn.

Justice Elena Kagan’s May 9 majority opinion said copyright holders like rapper Sherman Nealy can seek damages on any claims filed within the Copyright Act’s three-year statute of limitations. But the majority in Warner Chappell Music Inc. v. Nealy assumed, while declining to decide, the “discovery rule” applies to copyright claims. That makes even Nealy’s decade-old claims timely if he sued within three years of when he should ...