An article on the penalties for copyright infringement care of our member, Rob Bodine.
When you break the criminal law, it’s a crime; when you break the civil law, it’s a tort. Torts are punished when one entity (person or company) sues another. This is civil liability, and most copyright infringement is civil in nature.
Civil Liability, 17 U.S.C. §§ 504, 505
I’ve already discussed the penalties for criminal copyright infringement. There are two types of damages a copyright holder can recover: actual damages and statutory damages.
Actual Damages
Actual damages are probably exactly what they sound like to you. If the copyright holder can prove that the infringement resulted in $100,000.00 in damage, that amount can be recovered. Additionally, if the copyright holder can prove the amount of gross revenue earned by the copyright infringer (for example, where the infringer sold the copies), the holder can recover that amount as well. Notice that “gross revenue,” not “profits,” is relevant here…
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