9th Circuit Upholds Copyright for 'Raging Bull'

A concurring opinion usually doesn’t pack such a punch, but a Ninth Circuit judge threw a serious jab when he joined a ruling that MGM could keep the copyright for the boxing classic Raging Bull. Judge William Fletcher called his circuit “the most hostile to copyright owners of all the circuits,” and aimed a spotlight on the use of laches as a defense in copyright cases.

Raging Bull, which starred Robert De Niro as the legendary boxer Jake LaMotta, was released by MGM in 1980. The studio was sued in 2009 by Paula Petrella, the daughter of the late screenwriter Frank Petrella (aka Peter Savage), who wrote material about LaMotta, his childhood friend, that became the basis for the movie. Paula Petrella claimed that she owned the copyright to her father’s screenplays and book about LaMotta, and that MGM owed her $1 million for infringement. In 2010 Los Angeles U.S. District Judge George Wu granted MGM’s motion for summary judgment on the basis of the equitable defense of laches — she had waited too long to bring the suit.