Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Tennessee

Re: laches

Laches is a holdover concept from the days of the Court of Equity. It is a claim that a right was not asserted in a timely manner to the detriment of the adverse party. This is a difficult concept to prove in any situation where there is a statute of limitations - a legislated timeframe in which to commence an action.

In copyright cases, the statute of limitations is 3 years. The time runs from the first date of infringment. The only exception is if the owner did not know of the use. Then, the time runs from when the owner first knew, or, with reasonable diligence, should have known, of the use. This is not considered a long period of time in which to commence an action. Thus, any effort to shorten this period by asserting laches will most likely not be accepted by the court outside an assertion of fraud or other culpable conduct on behalf of the owner.