Copyright infringement is a term that we hear a lot in today’s society. We see a lot of high profile cases where celebrities sue people for infringing on their copyrights, and we’ve probably all clicked on a YouTube video and seen the message, “Sorry, this video no longer exists due to copyright infringement.”

In order for someone to actually be guilty of this crime, three things need to be true. First, the copyright holder has to have a valid and legitimate copyright. Without rights to the copyrighted material, a copyright infringement claim will not stand up in court. Second, the defendant in the case needs to have some kind of access to the copyrighted work. Lastly, there are three exceptions to this crime. If the infringement doesn’t meet the qualifications for these exceptions, it will be considered copyright infringement.

The Exceptions

As mentioned above, there are three exceptions to the crime of copyright infringement. These exceptions are are:

• Use by an educator for virtual education.
• Use by an educator for instruction in person.
• Used by an educator for fair use.

So, if you have been charged with copyright infringement, but you are a teacher or another type of educator, you might be able to build a solid defense to the crime. Your situation might fall under one or more of these exceptions. If you think that you have wrongly been accused of copyright infringement, you should consider contacting an attorney. A lawyer can review your situation and determine the best defense for your case.

Penalties

If you have been accused of copyright infringement, you could face serious consequences. For this reason, it is important to take the charge seriously. If one of the above-mentioned exceptions does not get not met, your defense to the crime will be weak. It is important to understand the consequences that you might face. The penalties for this crime include:

• A fine of $200-150,000, depending on the circumstances of the case.
• Paying for the damages and paying the victim back any profits made.
• Time in prison.

Getting Help

If you face copyright infringement charges, we can help. We have handled these cases before and can review your situation. We will help find the best solution to your situation by establishing the best defense that we can. We are available to take your call every day, and are happy to help in any way that we can.