Before you use or produce a literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, or choreographic work for personal or business purposes, you must execute your due diligence in ensuring that a copyright does not already protect such work. Otherwise, you may face great backlash if the rightful copyright owner gets word of this. In fact, such backlash may come in the form of criminal consequences. With that being said, please continue reading to learn the criminal consequences of committing copyright infringement and how an experienced New Jersey copyright lawyer at The Ingber Law Firm can help you avoid any accusations of the sort.
Under what circumstances might I be accused of copyright infringement?
Essentially, you may be accused of committing copyright infringement if you use, reproduce, and distribute a copyright owner’s original work without their explicit permission. More specific examples of this read as follows:
- You may copy and repost an original article to your website.
- You may illegally download and circulate an original music file.
- You may copy and perform an original dramatic work to a public audience.
- You may copy and perform an original choreographed dance to a public audience.
- You may make and sell merchandise that features an original artistic work or photograph.
- You may video record an original cinematographic piece in a movie theater and post it online.
Are there criminal consequences for committing copyright infringement?
Unfortunately, yes, you may be up against criminal consequences if you are tried for copyright infringement in court. What’s worse, the United States Congress has increased the severity of these consequences in recent years, along with widening the scope of what constitutes copyright infringement.
For one, you may be convicted of a first-offense copyright infringement if you were found to illegally reproduce or distribute at least 10 copies of phonorecords or one or more copyrighted works, with a retail value of more than $2,500, within 180 days. The consequences are namely a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to $250,000. Then, if this is your second offense, this may be heightened to a prison sentence of up to 10 years, and still a fine of up to $250,000.
Or, your penalties may be lessened if you are found guilty of a misdemeanor copyright infringement instead. A misdemeanor may apply if you committed another act besides reproduction or distribution, or reproduced or distributed less than the statutory minimum number of copies or retail value. With this, though, the consequences are still serious. That is, there is a possible prison sentence of up to one year and a fine of up to $100,000.
In conclusion, before entering the legal arena, you must retain the services of a skilled Essex County, New Jersey intellectual property lawyer. Reach out to The Ingber Law Firm today.
