The Defense of Laches in Copyright Infringement Claims

US copyright law provides incentives for creators to distribute their works through provisions for exclusive rights for reproduction and licensing. Part of the compensation scheme allotted to creators is the exclusive right to file an infringement suit to obtain recovery for damages suffered as a result of abrogation of such exclusive rights by the defendant. This private cause of action is critical in assuring that a creator has sufficient incentives to produce. Congress, however, tempered this private right in 1957 by amending the Copyright Act to include a three-year statute of limitations in all civil copyright infringement actions. The purpose, as with any statute of limitation, was to provide for certainty, accuracy, and repose.