Penalties for Violating Copyright Laws
- Courts may order an alleged infringer to cease activities that may be considered copyright infringement to mitigate possible damage to the copyright holder either prior to trial or, if the copyright holder prevails, after the court makes a final judgment.
- A court may order infringing copies to be seized before an infringement suit goes to trial. For example, if an accused infringer is selling a self-authored book that another copyright holder asserts was plagiarized from his own material, all of the books in question are subject to impoundment. If the court determines that infringement took place and rules on behalf of the copyright holder, the offending copies will be destroyed.
- A copyright holder asserting infringement can sue for compensatory (actual) damages, if he can prove that his bottom line was affected by the infringement. Alternately, he can sue for statutory damages, which limit the amount of each infringement to no less than $750 and no more than $30,000. If infringement was willful (e.g., took place after an injunctive order was issued or "cease and desist" letter sent to an accused infringer by a copyright holder), willful infringement occurs. Statutory damages of up to $150,000 may be awarded for willful infringement.
- A copyright holder may also be awarded court costs and attorney's fees if the act of infringement took place within three months after a copyright was been secured through the U.S. Copyright Office for published and unpublished work.
- Under the federal No Electronic Theft (NET) Act, infringers who electronically reproduce or distribute copyrighted materials, such as computer programs, may be subject to criminal penalties if the fair market value of the copyrighted work is $1000 or more. A jail term of up to five years may be imposed, in addition to fines up to $250,000.