What are the penalties for pirating software?
The Copyright Act allows a copyright owner to recover monetary damages measured either by: (1) actual damages plus any additional profits of the infringer attributable to the infringement, or (2) statutory damages, of up to $150,000 for each copyrighted work infringed. The copyright owner also has the right to permanently enjoin an infringer from engaging in further infringing activities and may be awarded costs and attorneys’ fees. The law also permits destruction or other reasonable disposition of all infringing copies and devices by which infringing copies have been made or used in violation of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights. In cases of willful infringement, criminal penalties may also be assessed against the infringer.
International copyright laws allow a copyright owner to recover monetary damages measured either by: (1) actual damages plus any additional profits of the infringer attributable to the infringement, or (2) statutory damages, of up to $150,000 for each copyrighted work infringed. The copyright owner also has the right to permanently restrict an infringer from engaging in further infringing activities and may be awarded costs and legal fees. International copyright laws also permit the destruction or other reasonable disposition of all infringing copies and devices by which infringing copies have been made or used in violation of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights. In cases of willful infringement, criminal penalties such as imprisonment may also be brought against the infringer.
