Supreme Court Revives Copyright Claims By Daughter of ‘Raging Bull’ Screenwriter

Copyright claims against movie studio MGM over the critically acclaimed boxing movie “Raging Bull” can go to the next round, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 May 19 (Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., 2014 BL 137694, U.S., No. 12-1315).

Intellectual property attorneys not connected with the case say the ruling gives plaintiffs more leverage in infringement actions and that the decision will likely lead plaintiffs to file more infringement suits, particularly those related to older copyrighted works.

Here, the Supreme Court said that although the copyright holder didn’t file her suit until 18 years after she renewed the copyright, ...