Statute of limitations for copyright infringements in Brazil

Brazil’s Copyright Law (“BCL”) does not contain any express provisions concerning statute of limitations. It follows that the general provisions of the Brazilian Civil Code (“BCC”) on limitations shall apply in relation to copyright infringements, and it has been the task of Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice to decide what particular provision of the BCC will apply to specific situations.  

The STJ has been ruling that in case of copyright infringements, the rightsholder has 3 (three) years to file a lawsuit to halt the relevant violation and seek compensation (BCC, Article 206, § 3º). However, if the copyright infringement results from a breach of a contract between the parties, the statute of limitation is of 10 (ten) years (BCC, Article 205). Furthermore, according to the Court, the statute of limitation does not apply to infringements of moral rights, such as authorship, which can be claimed by the rightsholder at any time. 

Although the BCC sets forth that the initial term of the statute of limitation shall be the moment that the infringement occurs (Article 189), the STJ has held that this shall be deemed to be renewed daily for as long as the infringement persists, unless there is evidence that the claimant was aware of the infringement and did not take any action to protect its rights. 

The regulation of the statute of limitation for copyright infringements is one of the topics included in the Bill of Law 2370/2019, which aims at amending the BCL.  

Our Partner Simone Lahorgue spoke in the public hearing held last October in Congress to discuss this Bill and commented on the importance of including in the law the STJ’s guidance on this matter.

Access to the hearing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt1ASiYIhIw&list=TLGGvJDnCZTZbdUyNTEwMjAyMw