How Long Do You Have to Sue for Copyright Infringement?

The rule fits in one sentence of the Copyright Act: "No civil action shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within three years after the claim accrued" (17 U.S.C. 507(b)). Our main copyright and trademark law page explains the rights behind the claim. This page is about the clock: when it starts, what resets it, what it does to the money you can recover, and the other deadlines, especially registration, that can matter more than the three years.

How the Copyright Time Limit Works, Step by Step

1. Identify each infringing act. A claim ordinarily accrues when an infringing act occurs, and under the separate-accrual rule each infringing act starts a new limitations period (Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., 572 U.S. 663 (2014)).
2. Work out when each claim accrued. Under the incident rule, that is the date of the act. Under the discovery rule, which the Supreme Court has assumed without deciding, it is when you discovered it or with due diligence should have.
3. Count three years. Suit must be filed within three years after accrual (507(b)); a Copyright Claims Board proceeding has the same limit (17 U.S.C. 1504(b)(1)).
4. Register the work first. No infringement suit on a U.S. work may be filed until registration has been made, with limited exceptions (17 U.S.C. 411(a)).
5. Check the registration date against the infringement. It decides whether statutory damages and attorney's fees are available (17 U.S.C. 412).
6. File before the earliest deadline you can reasonably face. When accrual is uncertain, plan around the earlier date.

Does Each Infringing Act Start a New Clock?

Yes. The Supreme Court explained in Petrella that under the separate-accrual rule, each time an infringing work is reproduced or distributed the infringer commits a new wrong, so "each infringing act starts a new limitations period," and "an infringement is actionable within three years, and only three years, of its occurrence." That case involved the film Raging Bull, released in 1980 and still being marketed. The plaintiff sued in 2009 over acts from 2006 on, and the Court held the claim could go forward.

The practical effect is that ongoing copying, such as a site that keeps displaying your photo or a company that keeps selling a product with your artwork, keeps producing fresh claims. An old start date does not by itself end the case. It can limit which acts are still within reach, depending on the accrual rule.

When Does the Clock Start: Infringement or Discovery?

That question is still open at the Supreme Court. Under the incident rule, a claim accrues when the infringing act occurs. Under the discovery rule, it accrues when "the plaintiff discovers, or with due diligence should have discovered," the infringement. In Petrella, the Court noted that it had "not passed on the question" while nine courts of appeals had adopted the discovery rule. In Warner Chappell Music, Inc. v. Nealy (2024), the Court again assumed without deciding that the discovery rule applies, and described it as the rule "used in the Circuit where Nealy sued," the Eleventh Circuit.

That matters here. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit hears federal cases from Alabama, Florida and Georgia, so it is the appeals court for copyright cases filed in Georgia's federal courts. Even so, because the Supreme Court has not decided the issue, the safer plan is to treat three years from the infringing act as the outer date and file earlier if you can. Note the diligence part of the rule: a claim accrues when you should have discovered it, not just when you did.

Is There a Three-Year Limit on Damages?

Not for a timely claim. In Nealy, the plaintiff sued in 2018 over licensing he said dated back to 2008, arguing his claims were timely because he first learned of the conduct in 2016. The district court had limited money recovery to the three years before suit. The Supreme Court held that the Copyright Act "entitles a copyright owner to obtain monetary relief for any timely infringement claim, no matter when the infringement occurred," and that the statute of limitations "establishes no separate three-year limit on recovering damages." Three Justices dissented.

The Court also explained a line in Petrella about relief reaching "only three years back." That described a plaintiff who had long known of the conduct and could not use the discovery rule; it did not set a damages cap for claims that are timely. So the fight in a long-running case is about timeliness itself: if the older claims are timely, the damages follow. What those damages can be is covered on our page about what you can recover in a copyright infringement lawsuit.

Can a Defendant Argue You Waited Too Long Within the Three Years?

Not to bar damages. Petrella held that "laches cannot be invoked as a bar" to a claim for damages brought within the three-year window, because the statute itself already accounts for delay. The Court left one opening: in extraordinary circumstances, laches may at the outset of the case curtail equitable relief, and its examples involved destroying a substantially built housing project or a book already printed and shipped. Petrella also noted that a defendant may offset against profits in the window the expenses of earning them, and keep returns attributable to its own enterprise (17 U.S.C. 504(b)).

How Does Registration Timing Interact With the Clock?

Registration is a gate you have to pass before filing. For a U.S. work, "no civil action for infringement of the copyright" may be instituted until preregistration or registration has been made, with limited exceptions, including a path to sue after the Copyright Office refuses an application (17 U.S.C. 411(a)). Registration takes time, so it eats into the three years. Our page on copyright registration cost and processing time explains the fees and the special handling option for pending litigation.

Registration timing also decides what you can recover. Statutory damages and attorney's fees are not available for an infringement of an unpublished work that began before the registration's effective date, or for an infringement that began after publication and before registration, unless the work was registered within three months after first publication (17 U.S.C. 412). Actual damages and profits remain available either way.

What About the Copyright Claims Board?

The Copyright Claims Board uses the same three-year period: a proceeding may not be maintained unless it is commenced "not later than 3 years after the claim accrued" (17 U.S.C. 1504(b)(1)). A Board proceeding also tolls the time to sue in federal court on the same claim while it is pending (1504(b)(2)), so choosing the Board first does not by itself cost you your court deadline. Participation is voluntary, and the other side can opt out within 60 days after service (17 U.S.C. 1504(a), 1506(i)), which is one reason to start well before the deadline.

What Should You Do Now to Protect the Claim?

Preserve evidence while it still exists. Websites change, listings come down and accounts disappear, and the date the copying started can decide whether older acts are within reach. Save dated screenshots and page copies, the URLs, any sales or download figures you can see, and every message with the other side. If a platform takedown is how you discovered the copying, the notice, any counter-notice and their dates are part of that record; our page on false DMCA takedowns explains those filings from the uploader's side.

Then gather your own proof: the original files with their dates, your registration records, and any license or assignment showing you own the right being infringed. If you hold an exclusive license rather than the copyright itself, our page on whether an exclusive licensee can sue covers who may bring the claim. If the other side sends you a letter first, or you need to answer one, see our page on what to do after a copyright infringement letter. Do not confuse the time to sue with how long the copyright lasts; copyright in a work created since 1978 generally lasts for the author's life plus 70 years (17 U.S.C. 302(a)), as our page on how long a song's copyright lasts explains.

What Changes the Answer

• Ongoing versus one-time copying. Each act starts its own clock (Petrella), so continuing use keeps creating timely claims.
• When you knew, or should have known. Under the discovery rule, accrual turns on discovery with due diligence; the Supreme Court has assumed, not decided, that the rule applies.
• Where you sue. Courts of appeals have answered the accrual question for their own circuits, and Petrella noted that nine had adopted the discovery rule; Georgia's federal courts are in the Eleventh Circuit.
• Registration date. It controls whether you can sue at all (411(a)) and whether statutory damages and fees are available (412).
• Forum. The Board has the same three-year limit and tolls the court deadline while pending (1504(b)).
• Criminal cases. Prosecutions have five years after the cause of action arose (507(a)).

A Worked Example

Common Mistakes

• Assuming the discovery rule will save old claims. The Supreme Court has not decided that it applies.
• Forgetting registration takes time. You cannot file on a U.S. work until it is registered or refused (411(a)).
• Counting from the first infringement only. Continuing acts create new claims, each with its own three years.
• Letting the evidence disappear. Save dated copies before you send any demand.
• Expecting statutory damages after a late registration. Check section 412 before you budget for them.
• Treating a letter as a deadline extension. Negotiating does not stop the clock; only a filing does, or a Board proceeding for the court deadline.

What to Do This Week

1. Write down when the copying started, when you found it, and whether it is still going on.
2. Save dated screenshots, page copies and URLs of every infringing use.
3. Check the Copyright Public Records System for your registration and its effective date.
4. If the work is not registered, start the application now.
5. Calendar three years from the earliest infringing act as your planning deadline.
6. Decide between a demand letter, the Copyright Claims Board and federal court with that date in mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Still Sue If the Copying Started More Than Three Years Ago?

Often yes, for acts within the last three years, because each infringing act starts its own period (Petrella). Older acts depend on whether the discovery rule applies and when you should have found them.

Does Sending a Cease and Desist Letter Stop the Clock?

No statute says so. Section 507(b) runs until an action is commenced, and a Board proceeding tolls the court deadline only while it is pending (1504(b)(2)).

Does the Three-Year Limit Apply to Copyright Claims Board Cases?

Yes. A Board proceeding must be commenced within three years after the claim accrued (17 U.S.C. 1504(b)(1)).

Is There a Deadline for Registering Before You Sue?

There is no separate deadline, but registration must come before the suit for a U.S. work (411(a)), and registering within three months of publication preserves statutory damages and fees for infringements that start in that window (412).

What If You Are the One Accused of Old Infringement?

Check the dates of each act you are accused of and when the owner knew or should have known. Laches will not bar damages for acts within three years (Petrella). Our page on copyright lawsuits in Atlanta federal court explains how a case runs from the defense side too.

How Long Do Prosecutors Have for Criminal Copyright Infringement?

Five years after the cause of action arose, unless the title expressly provides otherwise (17 U.S.C. 507(a)).

Zala IP Law advises copyright owners and accused parties on infringement claims, timing and registration strategy, and Shreepal J. Zala practices federal intellectual property law nationally. If you have found an old or ongoing copy of your work, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701, and bring the dates you know and any copies you have saved.