Copyright Penalties
Colleen has checked the law books and discovered that penalties for copyright infringement can be serious. |  |
They include:
- Fines - either the amount you actually cost the copyright holder, or the amount law allows the copyright holder per violation. That's between $200 (for "innocent infringers" - and that doesn't mean unaware of the law) and $150,000.
- Court costs and attorneys' fees: your attorney's fees and the copyright holder's
- The works that contain the stolen material can be impounded
- And you can go to jail.
For more information on this, see Copyright Law, Chapter 5 - US Copyright Office -
Also, most colleges and universities have policies against illegal copying and file sharing. So the penalties might also include disciplinary action by your school.
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