Lawyers - Copyright 101. Cites, please...

[Extraneous]

OK, a kid I know just got himself a DVD burner and is offering to sell copies of VERY copyrighted videos. (sorry, I am not going to ID the guy - he’s 20ish, USA (birth and residence) and is convinced that, as long as he is not making a profit (he doesn’t know how to calculate cost, but is certain his price does not exceed it :rolleyes: )

Can anyone point to a high-school level primer of the DMCA, with emphasis on the fact that ANY duplication and distribution is quite illegal, regardless of motive and/or profit margin?

I’d like to refer him to this thread before he sees a cease-and-desist up close and personal (let alone a Subpoena)

Thanks

[Q.E.D]

Copyright Law 101:

Generally, the copyright owner owns the exclusive right to publicly copy, distribute, perform or display a copyrighted work; to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work; or to delegate these privileges to others. Therefore, any use of a copyrighted work requires permission BEFORE any duplication can be made.

[Walloon]

The copyright owner in a copyright infringement suit does not have to prove actual damages or profits; as you can see in Section 504, below, the copyright owner can choose to collect statutory damages instead — plus his attorney’s fees. U.S. Copyright Code:

§ 106. Exclusive rights in copyrighted works
Subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of the copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:
(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
(4) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly;
(5) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and
(6) in the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

§ 504. Remedies for infringement: Damages and profits
(a) In General. — Except as otherwise provided by this title, an infringer of copyright is liable for either —
(1) the copyright owner’s actual damages and any additional profits of the infringer, as provided by subsection (b); or
(2) statutory damages, as provided by subsection ©. . .
© Statutory Damages. —
(1) Except as provided by clause (2) of this subsection, the copyright owner may elect, at any time before final judgment is rendered, to recover, instead of actual damages and profits, an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work, for which any one infringer is liable individually, or for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally, in a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 as the court considers just. For the purposes of this subsection, all the parts of a compilation or derivative work constitute one work.
§ 505. Remedies for infringement: Costs and attorney’s fees
In any civil action under this title, the court in its discretion may allow the recovery of full costs by or against any party other than the United States or an officer thereof. Except as otherwise provided by this title, the court may also award a reasonable attorney’s fee to the prevailing party as part of the costs.