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If you use a copyrighted work without permission
and your usage is not exempt under copyright law, you
are infringing upon the copyright holder's rights. The
copyright holder can sue you for actual damages or loss
of profits. The copyright holder may also seek statutory
damages up to $150,000 per infringement. See Section
504 for additional detail.
Good Faith Fair Use Defense
Section 504(c)(2) of the law extends some additional protections
to employees of nonprofit educational institutions, libraries
and archives. This section, which is called the Good Faith
Fair Use defense, allows the court to reduce the statutory
damages for infringement to zero if the infringer believed,
and had reasonable grounds for believing, that
- the usage was protected under fair use AND
- the usage was made within the scope of their employment.
This is why it is so important to document and file your
copyright analysis decisions. |
