Justices to Hear ‘Raging Bull’ Copyright Appeal
By ADAM LIPTAK
Published: October 1, 2013
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear an appeal in a copyright dispute arising from the movie “Raging Bull,” and it added seven other cases to its docket.
The justices took no action on closely watched cases concerning the regulation of greenhouse gases and whether Argentina must repay some of its bondholders.
The copyright case concerns collaborations between the boxer Jake LaMotta and a friend, Frank P. Petrella, including a book and two screenplays, one of which was called “The Raging Bull.” Paula Petrella, Mr. Petrella’s daughter, contends that these works formed the basis for “Raging Bull,” the 1980 movie starring Robert De Niro.
She did not sue the movie’s owners until 2009, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco, said that was too late. The copyright law itself would have allowed the suit, as its three-year statute of limitation starts to run anew every time there is a fresh infringement.
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/us/politics/justices-agree-to-hear-raging-bull-copyright-case.html
