Old Claims, Ongoing Risks: Repose in a Post-Petrella World

This panel revisits the Supreme Court’s landmark Petrella v. MGM decision, which held that laches cannot bar otherwise timely claims for copyright damages, and explores its impact on the copyright litigation landscape in the decade-plus that’s since passed.  We’ll revisit Petrella, discuss whether other equitable defenses have filled the laches gap, and unpack the Court’s recent Warner Chappell v. Nealy ruling, which has injected even more uncertainty around whether repose can be achieved in the post-Petrella world.  Panelists will explore what these shifts mean both legally and practically—how has the scope of “old” claims been broadened, and how can those risks be managed?