MGM “Knocks Out” Raging Bull Lawsuit with Settlement

Last year, we reported that the U.S. Supreme Court revived a longstanding copyright infringement lawsuit over the 1980 hit movie “Raging Bull.”  The suit was initially brought in 2009 when Paula Petrella, the daughter of Frank Petrella, alleged that MGM and 20th Century Fox (“MGM”) infringed on her father’s copyrights in a number of works written about the life of boxer Jake LaMotta.

Paula first became aware of her right to sue in the early 90’s based on a Supreme Court case related to …

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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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