Aaron Hall is a copyright lawyer located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is experienced in website copyright infringement, other forms of online copyright infringement, and traditional copyright law.
Should I Hire a Minneapolis MN Copyright Lawyer?
If you are dealing with a case of copyright infringement in Minnesota or involving a Minnesota company, a Minneapolis copyright attorney can assist you.
The first step for a copyright lawyer is usually issuing a cease and desist letter. The next step may be litigation.
One consideration before entering copyright litigation will be in the area of damages. In other words, how much can you win? There are two types of damages: actual and statutory.
Actual damages relate to harm that actually occurred in your situation. Under federal copyright law, a party may recover both actual damages and the defendant’s profits to the extent those profits were not already taken into account in computing the actual damages. The primary measure of recovery of actual damages is based upon the extent to which the market value of the copyrighted work has been injured or destroyed by the infringement. Damage calculations are unique to each situation and must be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Statutory damages are awarded by statute, even when there are no actual damages. In the United States, statutory damages are set out in Title 17, Section 504 of the U.S. Code. The basic level of damages is between $750 and $30,000 per work, at the discretion of the court. Parties who can show willful infringement may be entitled to damages up to $150,000 per violation. Defendants who can show that they were “not aware and had no reason to believe” they were infringing copyright may have the damages reduced to $200 per violation.
How Much Does a Minneapolis MN Copyright Lawyer Cost?
Another consideration is the cost of litigation. Lawyers don’t do copyright infringement cases on a contingency basis (like they would for a car accident). Copyright lawyers generally require payment in advance (retainer fees). Copyright infringement cases start at $3,000 (if the other side doesn’t fight it) and increase from there. Average cases are $30,000 to $60,000 in attorney’s fees.
The first step is a cease and desist letter. The cost of such a letter is $300 to $500, depending on how much time the attorney needs to spend gathering information (which the client can do to save money) and talking with the client (which again is within the control of the client).
How to Protect Your Copyrighted Material
If you have been the victim of copyright infringement and need the assistance of a copyright attorney, contact Aaron Hall. Consultations can be done by phone or in his office. As an experienced copyright attorney in Minneapolis, Mr. Hall can explain your options for protecting the value of your copyrighted work.
