The Authors Guild Files Amicus Brief in Starz v. MGM Before Ninth Circuit in Supporting the Right to Sue for Damages for Copyright Infringement Beyond Three Year

In keeping with its mission to advocate for the rights of professional writers to create without interference or threat and to receive fair compensation for that work, including supporting robust copyright laws that recognize and protect the rights of creators, the Authors Guild today filed an amicus brief before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in support of the plaintiff-appellee Starz in Starz Entertainment, LLC v. MGM Domestic Television Distribution, LLC, Ninth Circuit Case No. 21-55379.

Six other creator organizations joined the Authors Guild in the amicus brief: American Society of Media Photographers, Inc., The Dramatists Guild of America, the Graphic Artists Guild, the Romance Writers of America, the Songwriters Guild of America, Inc., and the Textbook & Academic Authors Association. 

MGM licensed rights to certain films and television shows in its library to third parties even though Starz still held those rights based on an earlier licensing agreement with MGM. MGM claimed that, for some of those infringements, more than three years had elapsed between when the infringements occurred and when Starz discovered them, and therefore Starz was barred from collecting damages. A federal district court in California disagreed and denied MGM’s motion to dismiss, drawing on the “discovery rule,” which “operates as an exception to the general principle that damages are only recoverable for infringing acts within three years prior to filing suit.”  

“Starz v. MGM may seem like a dispute between two large companies, but should the appeals court find for the defendant the ramifications would be very damaging for book authors and other individual copyright holders, especially given the huge rise in online piracy,” said Mary Rasenberger, CEO of the Authors Guild, the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit advocacy organization for published writers with nearly 12,000 members.

“Few writers possess the resources or the ability to patrol the Internet and other spaces for infringement on an ongoing basis. They often aren’t aware that one or more piracy sites have been selling pirated copies of their books illegally for years until someone calls attention to it,” Rasenberger added. “Imposing a strict three-year limit on damages, therefore, essentially shuts down the ability for many creators to file a lawsuit at all because few writers can afford the legal costs associated with such suits if they can’t seek restitution for book sales and royalty payments lost to piracy or other infringement. Already authors have experienced a 40 percent decline in book incomes in the past decade—categorically precluding blameless artists from collecting damages for infringements occurring more than three years ago only makes earning a living harder. The Authors Guild felt the issue significant enough to file an amicus brief in support of Starz.”

The amicus brief was filed on behalf of the Authors Guild and the other artists’ organizations by pro bono counsel Benjamin H. Diessel, Nathan E. Denning, and Michael Rondon of Wiggin & Dana LLP.

---

About the Authors Guild

The Authors Guild is the nation’s oldest and largest professional organization for published writers. Its mission is to empower working writers by advocating for the rights of authors and journalists. The Guild protects free speech and authors’ copyrights, fights for fair contracts and a living wage, offers workshops and seminars on the business of writing and provides an engaged and welcoming community for all published authors. For more, visit www.authorsguild.org.