NBA Teams Ask SCOTUS to End ‘Discovery Rule’ in Copyright Law

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Eight NBA teams that are being sued over their use of licensed music in social media posts filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. They urge the Court to reject the “discovery rule”—which doesn’t start the three-year statute of limitations clock for a copyright holder to sue for infringement until they discover or, with due diligence, should have discovered infringement—and endorse the “injury rule,” which starts the clock when infringement occurred.

The brief filed by the Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs is in support of RADesign Inc. (fashion designer Ruthie Davis), which has been sued by Michael Grecco Productions for copyright infringement over publication of a photo of model Amber Rose wearing a pair of Ruthie Davis shoes. The relevant issue for NBA teams is that RADesign’s  alleged infringement began more than four years before the lawsuit was filed and the Copyright Act requires that infringement claims be brought within three years. Last year the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit endorsed the discovery rule, which has led RADesign to ask the Supreme Court to review.

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In a brief authored by attorneys Kian J. Hudson and Stephen R. Mick, the teams note that they are defendants in an infringement case over the use of licensed music in social media posts “that,” the teams stress, “are in some cases more than a decade old.” Last year Kobalt Music Publishing and other companies that own or have licensed interests in songs sued 14 NBA teams over their use—without the plaintiffs’ permission—of songs sung by Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, Bad Bunny and other well-known artists.

The teams stress that the discovery rule is not stated in the Copyright Act, and thus lacks statutory support. Instead, courts have adopted the rule as a matter of practice. The teams maintain that while the discovery rule was created for a worthwhile reason—namely to protect “innocent plaintiffs” who are late in…

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Source link : https://www.yahoo.com/news/nba-teams-ask-scotus-end-212852016.html

Author : Sportico

Publish date : 2025-02-20 21:28:00

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