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COPYRIGHT ACT
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Copyright Act
« 17 USC Sec. 505 | Index | 17 USC Sec. 507 »
17 USC Sec. 506 - Criminal offenses
(a) Criminal Infringement. - Any person who infringes a copyright
willfully either -
(1) for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial
gain, or
(2) by the reproduction or distribution, including by
electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copies
or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a
total retail value of more than $1,000,
shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18,
United States Code. For purposes of this subsection, evidence of
reproduction or distribution of a copyrighted work, by itself,
shall not be sufficient to establish willful infringement.
(b) Forfeiture and Destruction. - When any person is convicted of
any violation of subsection (a), the court in its judgment of
conviction shall, in addition to the penalty therein prescribed,
order the forfeiture and destruction or other disposition of all
infringing copies or phonorecords and all implements, devices, or
equipment used in the manufacture of such infringing copies or
phonorecords.
(c) Fraudulent Copyright Notice. - Any person who, with
fraudulent intent, places on any article a notice of copyright or
words of the same purport that such person knows to be false, or
who, with fraudulent intent, publicly distributes or imports for
public distribution any article bearing such notice or words that
such person knows to be false, shall be fined not more than $2,500.
(d) Fraudulent Removal of Copyright Notice. - Any person who,
with fraudulent intent, removes or alters any notice of copyright
appearing on a copy of a copyrighted work shall be fined not more
than $2,500.
(e) False Representation. - Any person who knowingly makes a
false representation of a material fact in the application for
copyright registration provided for by section 409, or in any
written statement filed in connection with the application, shall
be fined not more than $2,500.
(f) Rights of Attribution and Integrity. - Nothing in this
section applies to infringement of the rights conferred by section
106A(a).
-SOURCE-
(Pub. L. 94-553, title I, Sec. 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2586;
Pub. L. 97-180, Sec. 5, May 24, 1982, 96 Stat. 93; Pub. L. 101-650,
title VI, Sec. 606(b), Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5131; Pub. L.
105-147, Sec. 2(b), Dec. 16, 1997, 111 Stat. 2678.)
-MISC1-
HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
HOUSE REPORT NO. 94-1476
Four types of criminal offenses actionable under the bill are
listed in section 506: willful infringement for profit, fraudulent
use of a copyright notice, fraudulent removal of notice, and false
representation in connection with a copyright application. The
maximum fine on conviction has been increased to $10,000 and, in
conformity with the general pattern of the Criminal Code (18
U.S.C.), no minimum fines have been provided. In addition to or
instead of a fine, conviction for criminal infringement under
section 506(a) can carry with it a sentence of imprisonment of up
to one year. Section 506(b) deals with seizure, forfeiture, and
destruction of material involved in cases of criminal infringement.
Section 506(a) contains a special provision applying to any
person who infringes willfully and for purposes of commercial
advantage the copyright in a sound recording or a motion picture.
For the first such offense a person shall be fined not more than
$25,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. For any
subsequent offense a person shall be fined not more than $50,000 or
imprisoned not more than two years, or both.
AMENDMENTS
1997 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105-147 amended subsec. (a)
generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (a) read as follows:
''(a) Criminal Infringement. - Any person who infringes a
copyright willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or
private financial gain shall be punished as provided in section
2319 of title 18.''
1990 - Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 101-650 added subsec. (f).
1982 - Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97-180 substituted ''shall be
punished as provided in section 2319 of title 18'' for ''shall be
fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one
year, or both: Provided, however, That any person who infringes
willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private
financial gain the copyright in a sound recording afforded by
subsections (1), (2), or (3) of section 106 or the copyright in a
motion picture afforded by subsections (1), (3), or (4) of section
106 shall be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned for not more
than one year, or both, for the first such offense and shall be
fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than two
years, or both, for any subsequent offense''.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1990 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 101-650 effective 6 months after Dec. 1,
1990, see section 610 of Pub. L. 101-650, set out as an Effective
Date note under section 106A of this title.
-CROSS-
CROSS REFERENCES
Acts of infringement subject to this section -
Making and distributing phonorecords, see section 115 of this
title.
Secondary transmission of primary transmission, see section 111
of this title.
Costs or prosecution taxable in non-capital proceedings, see
section 1918 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Trafficking in counterfeit labels for phonorecords and copies of
motion pictures or other audiovisual works, see section 2318 of
Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.
Works consisting of sounds, images, or both, the first fixation
of which is made simultaneously with its transmission, as subject
to this section, although not yet registered, see section 411 of
this title.
-SECREF-
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS
This section is referred to in sections 101, 109, 111, 115, 119,
122, 411, 501, 509 of this title; title 18 section 2319; title 19
section 1595a.
« 17 USC Sec. 505 | Index | 17 USC Sec. 507 »
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