The Copyright Act of 1976 is set to defend your basic rights as a copyright holder. That is, it protects your intellectual property, whether a published or unpublished work, from any illegal display, reproduction, or other means of distribution. So if your rights get violated in any way, you may decide to take legal action against the infringing party. If this leads to settlement negotiations, you must fight for compensation that adequately covers your incurred damages. Continue reading to learn how the damages in your copyright infringement settlement may be calculated and how an experienced New Jersey copyright lawyer at The Ingber Law Firm can work to ensure no stone is left unturned.
How might the damages in my copyright infringement settlement be calculated?
To avoid having to go to court, an infringing party may first attempt to negotiate a settlement agreement with you. With this, your damages might be calculated using any of the following formulas:
- The magnitude of sales test: this test estimates the sales you would have made if such infringement activity never occurred.
- The market value test formula: this formula estimates the fair market value that a willing buyer would have paid to use your copyrighted work.
- The comparable licensing analysis: this analysis estimates the profit you would have received if you had willingly licensed your copyrighted work.
You must not negotiate for any less than you deserve in your settlement agreement. So if an infringing party is unwilling to bend, then you may have to litigate your case. With this, you must understand the different types of remedies you may seek. They read as follows:
- Actual damages: an actual amount of profits you lost due to an infringing party’s activity.
- Statutory damages: an amount of compensation per work (i.e., $750 to $30,000 per work).
- Injunctive relief: an order against an infringing party to restrain future or ongoing civil copyright infringement.
- Impounding and destruction: an order that all work made or used in violation of your rights be taken into the custody of the court.
Who should I employ to help me with these calculations?
Understandably so, it may be difficult to calculate your total damages on your own. What’s more, you may be unsure whether a settlement offer fairly represents the extent of trouble an infringing party put you through.
This is why you must first employ a lawyer to negotiate on your behalf in your settlement, along with fighting on your behalf in your potential litigation proceedings. From here, your lawyer may call on a damages expert to perform the aforementioned damages calculations for you. They may also account for damages that you did not initially know you incurred (i.e., attorney fees, court costs, etc).
This is all to say that you must consult a skilled Essex County, New Jersey intellectual property lawyer before you move any further in your settlement agreement. So please reach out to The Ingber Law Firm today.
