Copyright Statute of Limitations Bars Suit

"Plaintiff's infringement and ownership claims premised on his alleged full copyright ownership of the songs is barred by the statute of limitations. Plaintiff had been having 'numerous discussions and several meetings' with representatives of Atlantic, Warner/Chappell's predecessor-in-interest, as early as 1988 and knew that Atlantic was claiming a right to publish the songs at that time. Therefore, the three-year statute of limitations expired at latest in 1991 and, as the instant action was filed in 2006, Plaintiff's claims must be dismissed for untimeliness.

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Plaintiff asserts that settlement discussions took place throughout this time period, but settlement discussions are not the sort of extraordinary circumstance that justify Plaintiff's failure to bring the instant action in a timely manner or to continue prosecuting the 1991 lawsuit, absent evidence of any misrepresentations from the relevant entities or any other type of egregious misconduct at any time during the relevant period."

Poindexter v. Warner/Chappell Music Inc., 2/23/09 N.Y.L.J. "Decision of Interest" (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 9, 2009)

[Procedural note: the Court converted Defendant's 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss to a Rule 56 motion for summary judgment, pursuant to Rule 12(d), "because both parties referenced and submitted materials beyond the scope of the complaint." The parties were permitted to make additional submissions.]