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Hard-fought copyright case produces just $750 award

Mike Nepple March 18, 2021
An open coin purse full of quarters

A recent copyright case serves as an important reminder to be careful what you wish for, because you may get it. READ MORE

Not a bargain at twice the price: Court awards attorneys’ fees to victorious copyright defendant

Mike Nepple September 16, 2020
Someone holding opening an empty wallet

Richard Bell, an attorney-photographer who has filed and settled many infringement lawsuits, has learned that a loss at trial can be particularly expensive when a court ordered him to pay a defendant’s fees. READ MORE

If they litigate, you can only try to mitigate statutory damages

Mike Nepple February 19, 2020
gavel with money

Because they allow recoveries of up to $150,000 per infringed work, statutory damages are a powerful copyright remedy. In a recent copyright infringement case, a defendant tried – and failed – to argue the copyright owner should not be entitled to statutory damages because of its “litigious business strategy.” READ MORE

CASE Act promises fast track for small copyright claims, but is it the right track?

Mike Nepple December 11, 2019
A formula one car racing on a track

The CASE Act, a law designed to help copyright holders expedite the resolution of small copyright infringement claims, would provide an alternative path to resolve copyright infringement claims. But whether the CASE Act will pass the Senate in its current form and fulfill its stated premise remains open to questions. READ MORE

Appellate Court leaves open question of good faith in copyright litigation

Mike Nepple June 24, 2019
Illustration of thief caught stealing books

In a recent decision, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals avoiding answering if good faith is a viable defense to a copyright infringement claim. Instead, the court found the defendant failed to prove its alleged good faith, reversing a lower court’s dismissal of a photographer’s claim. READ MORE

Social media photos, once again, are not fair game

Mark Sableman January 29, 2019
Illustration of hand in a phone stopping a man

For those who missed the message five years ago that social media photos aren’t free to use, a new decision has renewed and reinforced that message. The circumstances of the case may make this decision hard to forget or ignore. READ MORE

When good copyright laws go bad: Indictment lays out porn ‘trolling’ scheme

Mark Sableman March 8, 2017
illustration of a man with money held over his mouth

What happens when you use legitimate means to achieve despicable ends? In the case of two attorneys at the center of a high-profile copyright enforcement scheme involving pornographic movies, you end up on the receiving end of a federal indictment. READ MORE