Copyright holders can seek past damages for infringement beyond the three years prior to the timely filing of their infringement suits, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
But the court, in its 6-3 decision, left perhaps for another day a ruling on when exactly the three-year clock for filing an infringement case begins: when the infringement occurred or when the holder discovered or should have discovered the copyright was infringed. So, in its decision regarding damages, the court “assume[d] without deciding that a claim is timely” if brought within three years of the infringement’s discovery regardless of when the infringement occurred.