Copyright Infringement Statute of Limitations

The Statute of Limitations in copyright law is three years for every state in the U.S.

The Statute of Limitations is created in order to protect potential defendants from being sued after so many years have passed and memories of crucial details have faded concerning the matter. The Statute of Limitations for copyright law is three years. Because copyright law is federal, the three-year Statute of Limitations is the same for every state in the United States.

Time Frame

The Statute of Limitations begins after the infringement stops.

Although the Statute of Limitations for copyright infringement is three years, the three-year time limit does not actually begin until after the infringement stops. For example, if a person steals written work and presents it to the outside world as his own, no matter how long the infringement lasts, the Statute of Limitations begins after the person stops presenting the written work as his own creation.

Tolling

Tolling can be used when deciding when the Statute of Limitations begins to run.

Depending on which court the matter is taken, a person can sue for copyright infringement for either as many years the infringement occurred or just the three years thereafter. There are some instances where a person does not have knowledge of the copyright infringement even taking place. This is when "tolling" is employed. Tolling is when the Statute of Limitations does not start until the person discovers the infringement is happening or did happen. Tolling is beneficial to a victim of copyright infringement because he can still recover damages even though the Statute of Frauds time limit has passed.

Defenses

The person who infringed on another's work must prove the Statute of Limitations has expired.

If a person who has infringed on another person's copyrighted work and is finally caught, the person must prove to the court two things to use Statute of Limitations has his defense. First, he must prove that the infringement has stopped. Second, that the victim of the infringement knew or should have known of the copyright infringement taking place and the three years after his knowledge of the infringement had passed.

Complications

It is harder for courts to determine copyright infringement based off a continued or similar piece of work.

There may be instances where the court is unsure how to determine damages for copyright infringement. For example, if an author writes a novel and another author writes a novel that is so similar to that novel or is regarded as a sequel to that other novel, the court may find it difficult to find that the author who created the similar novel or sequel has infringed on the other author's copyrighted work.

Goal

The Statute of Limitations prevents infringement from continuing without legal consequences.

The overall goal of the Statute of Limitations for copyrighted work is to prevent the rightful owner of the work from "sitting" on the suit allowing the other person to continue the infringement before filing suit. The person who wishes to file suit for copyright infringement must do so within the Statute of Limitations or he will be faced with a Statute of Limitations defense.

References

• Plagerism Today: Statute of Limitations in copyright law