Repeated Copyright Infringements and the Statute of Limitations: Convergence Between French and German Law

One difference between German and French law concerns the statute of limitations for claims for damages under copyright law. While under German law the limitation period is generally three years (Sections 195 and 199 of the German Civil Code (BGB) in conjunction with Section 102 of the German Copyright Act (UrhG)), French law generally provides for a five-year period (Article 2224 of the French Civil Code). Despite this difference regarding the duration of the statute of limitations, however, the two legal systems are converging on the question of how this period should be applied in cases of repeated infringements.

⚖️ Court of Cassation (1st Civil Chamber), September 3, 2025, Case No. 23-18.669

A recent decision by the French Court of Cassation illustrates this convergence of the two legal systems. In its judgment of September 3, 2025, the Court clarifies how the five-year statute of limitations for copyright infringement claims is to be calculated, particularly in cases involving repeated infringements.

🔎 Principle

Under Article 2224 of the Civil Code, claims are barred by the statute of limitations five years from the date on which the rights holder became aware of, or should have become aware of, the circumstances giving rise to the claim. In cases of ongoing infringement, case law has previously treated such situations as a single infringement, even if they spanned several years.

📌 Facts of the Case

The plaintiffs, creators of a musical work, accused the defendants of unlawfully incorporating their work into a track that had been marketed since 2010. Although a cease-and-desist letter was issued in 2011, they did not file a lawsuit until 2018. The Paris Court of Appeal dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds of the statute of limitations, as it classified subsequent acts of distribution merely as a continuation of the original infringement.

The Court of Cassation overturned this decision and clarified: If the infringement consists of several successive acts (reproduction, communication to the public, or distribution), the statute of limitations begins separately for each act. Subsequent commercializations may therefore constitute independent acts of infringement.

🇩🇪 Convergence with German legal practice

This principle is also found in current German case law. In copyright law, this plays a role in cases of repeated acts of use. An example is the ruling of the Federal Court of Justice dated January 15, 2015 (Case No. I ZR 148/13), according to which the unauthorized public making available of photographs on the internet is to be regarded as a continuous act that must be broken down into individual acts, each of which is subject to separate limitation periods. French case law is thus aligning with the German interpretation of the law.

As a German-French law firm, we closely monitor these developments in both legal systems and assist companies and rights holders with cross-border copyright issues.

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