Copyright+and+the+Law

= Copyright and the Law =

George Washington signed the first U.S. copyright law which has been rewritten over many years with its last major revision occurring in 1976, with minor modifications in the years since. The following are significant laws and acts that address copyright in your classroom.

Copyright Law, Title 17, United States Code, Public Law - the U.S. Copyright Office provides the entire Copyright Law (Title 17) and all related laws contained in Title 17 of the United States Code.

Congressional Guidelines for Fair Use - these are not law, but are interpreted to be Congress' intent in enacting the law

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998) - a copyright law that criminalizes the production of technologies that circumvent measures that control access to copyrighted works and heightens the penalties for copyright infringement on the Internet.

Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization(TEACH) Act (2002) - a copyright law that redefines the terms and conditions that US accredited nonprofit higher education institutions may use copyright protected materials in distance education-including on websites and by other digital means without permission from the copyright owner and without payment of royalties

Copyright Court Decisions

Penalties and Liability
Copyright infringement is not a minor infraction. Damages can be actual or statutory, depending on how the suit is filed and whether the copyright to the infringed work was registered before the infringement began. Statutory fines range from $750 to $30,000 per infringement. Defendants who can reasonably justify that the use of work is within fair use, considered "innocent infringers" are provided a limited exception and can have fines reduced to as little as $200 per work infringed (at the discretion of the court). If such an infringement is deemed knowledgeable and intentional, statutory damages can result in $150,000 per instance. Willful infringement that results in commercial gain can result in fines of $250,000, 5 years imprisonment, or both!

Most copyright suits are civil matters, but in 1992 piracy laws resulted in classification as a felony and result in fines up to $250,000.