What are the damages for an infringement?
A. The owner of a copyright can always claim whatever damages he has actually sustained as a result of an infringement plus whatever profits were earned by the infringer from the unauthorized use of a work. In addition, if the copyright to a work which was infringed was registered with the Copyright Office either prior to the infringement or within 90 days after first publication, there are alternative damages that can be awarded. The owner of the copyright can elect to seek the greater of either his actual damages plus the profits earned by the infringer, or damages of up to $100,000 plus attorney’s fees and court costs. The total damages that can be awarded by a court depends upon the degree of willfulness of the infringer. For example, if a company has an agreement with a photographer to use certain photographs for one year only, the photographs can only be used within the one-year term. The company cannot use existing printed matter that contains any of the photographerÃs images be
