Copyright infringement is covered by the Copyright Act of 1976. Unjust enrichment remedies set copyright damages apart from patent and tort damage calculations.
Campos & Stratis understands equitable remedies, burden of proof, apportionment and deductible costs. We clarify complex fact patterns, and present our findings in precise, clearly supported Rule 26 expert reports, backed by the evidence. Our representative copyright cases highlight some of the engagements to which we have applied our expertise. |
| Copyright Infringement Damages
Title 17 of the U.S. Code provides several remedies for copyright infringement including injunctive relief, impoundment, and monetary damages.1 The law allows the copyright owner to "recover the actual damages suffered by him or her as a result of the infringement, and any profits of the infringer that are attributable to the infringement and are not taken into account in computing the actual damages."2 Statutory damages may be awarded in lieu of actual damages.3 Attorney's fees may also be awarded.
In obtaining the infringer's profits for copyright infringement, the burden of proof is different from other intellectual property cases. "In establishing the infringer's profits, the copyright owner is required to present proof only of the infringer's gross revenue, and the infringer is required to prove his or her deductible expenses and the elements of profit attributable to factors other than the copyrighted work."4 In certain cases, infringers may also be liable for "indirect profits," which are profits on goods whose sale was made possible by the infringement. However, the plaintiff has the burden to demonstrate a nexus between the infringement and the indirect profits.
|
