Re: Re: Statute of limitations on copyright infringement

While I agree with that black letter principle, I guess the question is when does a thief cease being a thief? In a case where neither the state nor the victim of the crime have any cause of action for theft (even though they each had one at one time), public policy for "quieting title" would seem to favor the [former] thief -- as when a trespasser eventually becomes the owner through adverse possession of real property.

Jon

On Apr 11, 2006, at 6:45 PM, John P. McNeill wrote:

> My recollection is that title of stolen property never passes to a
> thief,
> nor to anyone who takes from a thief.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CNI-COPYRIGHT -- Copyright & Intellectual Property
> [mailto:CNI-COPYRIGHT[_at_]cni.org] On Behalf Of John T. Mitchell
> Sent: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 12:01 PM
> To: CNI-COPYRIGHT -- Copyright & Intellectual Property
> Subject: [CNI-(C)] Re: Statute of limitations on copyright
> infringement
>
> On Apr 10, 2006, at 3:50 PM, Terry Carroll wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 7 Apr 2006, Joseph Pietro Riolo wrote:
>>
>>> My question is: Am I wrong about the statute of limitations on
>>> copyright infringement?
>>
>> I don't think copyright infringement applies to these facts.
>>
>> In the facts stated, the guy stole some LP records from a radio
>> station.
>> That's theft, and not an infringement of copyright. It does not
>> implicate the section 106(3) distribution right, because that
>> right is
>> limited to distribution to the public. Simply stealing a copy or
>> phonorecord, and thereby "distributing" it to yourself, is not a
>> distribution to the public.
>
> This raises a fascinating question for me. I agree that the facts
> (mere
> theft) do not support any infringement of copyright. The advice
> indicated
> that a distribution (to the public) would occur if they were
> donated to
> charity. While this is true, the Section 109(a) right permits the
> distribution by the "owner" of a lawfully made copy. The question
> that
> comes to my mind is when, if ever, does a thief become an owner?
> Once the
> statue of limitations for theft and for any civil cause of action
> runs,
> presumably the radio station could not get them back.
>
> The SOL may not begin to run until the radio station discovers that
> the DJ
> stole them, but suppose the DJ confesses and the radio station does
> nothing.
> Once the SOL runs, is the DJ free to redistribute them under
> Section 109(a)?
> I would think so because the copyright owner is certainly not the
> owner of
> the stolen albums, and the radio station would have given up any
> right to
> reclaim them by virtue of the running of the SOL. Public policy
> would seem
> to favor broad dissemination by allowing the thief to distribute
> them. Any
> other thoughts.
>
> John
>
> John T. Mitchell
> http://interactionlaw.com
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Received on Thu Apr 13 2006 - 02:00:31 GMT