SCOTUS Holds Laches no Defense to Copyright Infringement in Raging Bull Case

On May 19, the U.S. Supreme Court revived a copyright lawsuit over the 1980 hit movie “Raging Bull,” a film about the famous boxer Jake LaMotta.  The suit was originally brought against MGM Studios by Paula Petrella, the daughter of the now-deceased screenwriter Frank Petrella, but was dismissed by two lower courts who held that Petrella waited too long to sue.  The Supreme Court disagreed and re-instated Petrella’s suit.

The original rights to the film were sold to an entity which was later purchased by …

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