Copyright Law - Chapter 10 Outline.docx - Chapter 10:...

Chapter 10: Infringement of Copyright
Tessa Stites
1. What is Copyright Infringement?
a. Copyright law suits are always based on the written composition/sheet music
because a recording is a derivative of the written work itself
b. Infringement is the equivalent of stealing physical property
c. Infringement occurs whenever someone exercises any of the copyright
owner’s exclusive right without permission to do so
d. Section 501(a)
i. “Anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner
as provided by Section 106 through 118, or who imports copies or
phonorecords into the United States in violation of Section 602, is an
infringer of copyright.”
e. A single act of infringement can violate one or more of the copyright owner’s
exclusive rights
i. Infringement is not dependent on any exchange of money or profit motive
f. They key to winning an infringement claim is proving that the defendant copied
the plaintiff’s work.
i. There are some circumstances where infringement will not result even
though a defendant copied from a plaintiff’s work
ii. Copying must amount to an improper appropriation of the copyright
work
1. To constitute this, at least some of the elements copied must be
copyright subject matter rather than uncopyrightable or public
domain elements
g. Just because someone’s work is similar to yours does not necessarily mean that it
infringed on your work
h. Copyright infringement claims have become commonplace
i. Starting in the 1970s, the trend for people to claim they wrote big artists’
hits – resulted in record companies and music publishers being reluctant
and less receptive to listening to material submitted by new artists and
songwriters
ii. All major record labels now have strict policies of not accepting any
unsolicited material unless it is submitted through an attorney or known
entity
2. What if You Believe Your Work Has Been Infringed?
a. Before initiating legal action against an infringer, a copyright owner usually
notifies the alleged infringer and request they stop infringing
i. Usually done by have lawyer send a Cease-and-Desist letter
b. Copyright owner may also request payment for the unauthorized use that has been
made
i. In some cases, the infringer may be willing to settle the claim by agreeing
to pay the copyright owner a specified amount of money

c. Settlement agreements usually do not contain any admission of liability and are
usually confidential, so the amount paid by the infringer is not known to the
public
i. Example 10.1 (p. 180)
d. More copyright infringement claims are threatened than actually litigated
i. It is possible that if you send a cease-and-desist letter, you will be ignored
ii. Threatening to sue is usually not going to work so if you really want to
enforce your rights, you need to be willing to file a lawsuit if necessary
1. Sometimes threatening a lawsuit will make settlement more likely
– the other party knows you’re serious and will have to go through
the expense of defending the lawsuit