Is copyright law civil or criminal?

Under certain circumstances, the violation can also constitute a misdemeanor or felony, which would be prosecuted by the U.S. UU. The civil statute of limitations is three years, but there is a five-year statute of limitations for a federal prosecutor to bring a criminal case against an offender. Federal prosecutors are encouraged to pay special attention to violators who are successfully sued through civil proceedings and yet continue to infringe.

No knowledge or intention is strictly necessary to determine a civil violation, to the extent that it is a strict liability breach. A civil infringement lawsuit is something you wouldn't want to see criminally prosecuted as well. Civil statute imposes strict liability for infringement and high statutory damages, while a wide range of conduct could fall under criminal statutes. Statutory inflation is common when courts receive uncertain or different standards for violating a statute that is both corrective and criminal, where courts refer to legislators, and legislators draft broad laws relying on judicial restraint to restrict their application to small actors.

We disclaim all liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the content of this site to the fullest extent permitted by law. Therefore, do not use this website or the email addresses available on this website to provide confidential information about yourself or a legal matter to War IP Law PLLC or any of its attorneys. The content of any unsolicited email sent to War IP Law PLLC, or to any of its attorneys at an email address available on this website, will not create an attorney-client relationship and the content of such unsolicited email will not be considered confidential. Laws since 1897, which added a penalty for misdemeanors for illegal actions if they were deliberate and for profit.

copyright law