1999 US Code
Title 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 113 - STOLEN PROPERTY
Sec. 2319 - Criminal infringement of a copyright

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§2319. Criminal infringement of a copyright

(a) Whoever violates section 506(a) (relating to criminal offenses) of title 17 shall be punished as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section and such penalties shall be in addition to any other provisions of title 17 or any other law.

(b) Any person who commits an offense under section 506(a)(1) of title 17—

(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of at least 10 copies or phonorecords, of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than ,500;

(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense is a second or subsequent offense under paragraph (1); and

(3) shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, in any other case.

(c) Any person who commits an offense under section 506(a)(2) of title 17, United States Code—

(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 3 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution of 10 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of ,500 or more;

(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 6 years, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense is a second or subsequent offense under paragraph (1); and

(3) shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year, or fined in the amount set forth in this title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution of 1 or more copies or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works, which have a total retail value of more than ,000.

(d)(1) During preparation of the presentence report pursuant to Rule 32(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, victims of the offense shall be permitted to submit, and the probation officer shall receive, a victim impact statement that identifies the victim of the offense and the extent and scope of the injury and loss suffered by the victim, including the estimated economic impact of the offense on that victim.

(2) Persons permitted to submit victim impact statements shall include—

(A) producers and sellers of legitimate works affected by conduct involved in the offense;

(B) holders of intellectual property rights in such works; and

(C) the legal representatives of such producers, sellers, and holders.

(e) As used in this section—

(1) the terms “phonorecord” and “copies” have, respectively, the meanings set forth in section 101 (relating to definitions) of title 17; and

(2) the terms “reproduction” and “distribution” refer to the exclusive rights of a copyright owner under clauses (1) and (3) respectively of section 106 (relating to exclusive rights in copyrighted works), as limited by sections 107 through 120, of title 17.

(Added Pub. L. 97–180, §3, May 24, 1982, 96 Stat. 92; amended Pub. L. 102–561, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4233; Pub. L. 105–80, §12(b)(2), Nov. 13, 1997, 111 Stat. 1536; Pub. L. 105–147, §2(d), Dec. 16, 1997, 111 Stat. 2678.)

References in Text

The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), are set out in the Appendix to this title.

Amendments

1997—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–147, §2(d)(1), substituted “subsections (b) and (c)” for “subsection (b)”.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–147, §2(d)(2)(A), substituted “section 506(a)(1) of title 17” for “subsection (a) of this section” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105–147, §2(d)(2)(B), inserted “including by electronic means,” after “if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution,” and substituted “which have a total retail value of more than ,500” for “with a retail value of more than ,500”.

Pub. L. 105–80, substituted “at least 10 copies” for “at last 10 copies”.

Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 105–147, §2(d)(3), added subsecs. (c) and (d) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as (e).

1992—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–561, §1, amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: “Any person who commits an offense under subsection (a) of this section—

“(1) shall be fined not more than 0,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both, if the offense—

“(A) involves the reproduction or distribution, during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of at least one thousand phonorecords or copies infringing the copyright in one or more sound recordings;

“(B) involves the reproduction or distribution, during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of at least sixty-five copies infringing the copyright in one or more motion pictures or other audiovisual works; or

“(C) is a second or subsequent offense under either of subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section, where a prior offense involved a sound recording, or a motion picture or other audiovisual work;

“(2) shall be fined not more than 0,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, if the offense—

“(A) involves the reproduction or distribution, during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of more than one hundred but less than one thousand phonorecords or copies infringing the copyright in one or more sound recordings; or

“(B) involves the reproduction or distribution, during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of more than seven but less than sixty-five copies infringing the copyright in one or more motion pictures or other audiovisual works; and

“(3) shall be fined not more than ,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, in any other case.”

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–561, §2, substituted “ ‘phonorecord’ ” for “ ‘sound recording’, ‘motion picture’, ‘audiovisual work’, ‘phonorecord’,” in par. (1) and “120” for “118” in par. (2).

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in sections 1956, 1961, 2320 of this title; title 17 section 109; title 49 section 80302.