If you grew up in Queens, New York, then you have a soft spot for Run-DMC, if for no other reason than they recorded a song entitled “Christmas In Hollis.” They also recorded a song called “It’s Tricky” which was a hit in 1985. ‘It’s Tricky’ sampled ‘My Sharona,’ the one hit for one hit wonders, The Knack. The Knack claims to have missed the first twenty years that ‘It’s Tricky’ was around, and now have sued Run-DMC, and Apple (which sells the song on iTunes), and some others, for copyright infringement, in the UK.
I encourage copyright statute of limitation experts (and UK copyright experts) to email me because I’m a little puzzled by the statement in the article that The Knack missed the three year statute of limitations in the U.S. My understanding of the US statute is that you have three years from the last infringement. If iTunes is still selling the song (which is the case), then the infringement is on-going in the U.S. However, as Prof Patry notes, the damages may be limited to only the past three years. That may be why the suit is in the UK. Please advise.