How to Learn About the Penalties for Violating Digital Copyright Laws

Digital copyright laws provide a legal shield for individuals who create a material expression such as a book or musical number. Copyrights prevent unauthorized use of protected products and allow the free usage of these products by the copyright holder. There are significant penalties for violating digital copyright laws that individuals should understand before engaging in creative endeavors.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Speak with an intellectual property lawyer before pursuing legal action. Intellectual property precedent at the state and federal level is often murky, requiring counsel with an eye for detail. Major law schools and the American Bar Association website provide information on intellectual property lawyers in your area (see Resources below).
2. Seek information about the importance of copyright protection from the U.S. Copyright Office (see Resources below). This federal office can provide information on federal copyright laws as well as help you learn the best way to protect your intellectual property.
3. Ask intellectual property and law experts at your local university about the penalties for copyright violation. Professors and academic experts are usually willing to impart their expertise to the public. There are also public seminars and lectures on the topic of intellectual property that can be informative.
4. Appreciate the tenuous character of the fair use doctrine in copyright law. Fair use of copyrighted material can include the use of quoted text in an academic paper or news story. The limits of fair use depend on a variety of factors, including the originality of the new work and the potential for financial harm to the copyright holder.

Tips & Warnings

• Document all possible violations of your copyright after discovering the first violating instance. An author with a copyright-protected article can enter a distinct line from their work into a search engine. Identity thieves and others may utilize more than one alias or website to distribute stolen work, requiring extensive searches to gather evidence.
• Learn the statute of limitations on copyright violations. According to federal copyright laws published by the U.S. Copyright Office, lawsuits need to be brought to the court within five years of the violation (see Resources below).