Copyright Statutory Damages and Attorney Fees (17 U.S.C. §§ 504 and 505)

Last updated: November 2026

A copyright owner who wins an infringement case may recover either actual damages plus the infringer's profits, or statutory damages of $750 to $30,000 for each work infringed. The statutory award can rise to $150,000 per work for willful infringement and fall to $200 for innocent infringement. (17 U.S.C. § 504(b), (c).) The court may also award costs and a reasonable attorney fee to the prevailing party. (17 U.S.C. § 505.) Kolmogorov Law, P.C. litigates these remedies for California businesses in Orange County and Los Angeles.

Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online to discuss what a copyright claim against you, or by you, is worth.

The two measures of copyright infringement damages

The Copyright Act gives the owner a choice. The default is actual damages suffered because of the infringement, plus any profits of the infringer attributable to it that were not already counted in the damages. (17 U.S.C. § 504(b).) The alternative is statutory damages, which the owner may elect at any time before final judgment. (17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(1).)

The choice matters because actual damages are often small and hard to prove. A copied product photograph might have licensed for a few hundred dollars. A copied manual might have cost the owner no identifiable sale. Statutory damages exist for those cases, and they drive most settlement negotiations.

Actual damages and profits

Actual damages usually mean the license fee the infringer should have paid, or the sales the owner lost. Profits are the infringer's gain from the use. The statute allocates the proof in a way that favors the owner. The owner need only prove the infringer's gross revenue. The infringer must then prove its deductible expenses and the share of profit that came from something other than the copied work. (17 U.S.C. § 504(b).)

For a business accused of copying, that burden is the dangerous part. Suppose a competitor used your code in a product that earned a million dollars. It must show how much of that million came from its own marketing, its other features, and its sales force. If it cannot, the court may award more than the code was worth.

Copyright statutory damages: the ranges

For all infringements of any one work in the action, the court awards a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000, as it considers just. (17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(1).) If the owner proves willful infringement, the court may increase the award to as much as $150,000. If the infringer proves it was not aware and had no reason to believe its acts were infringing, the court may reduce the award to as little as $200. (17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2).)

Two details change the arithmetic. First, the award is per work, not per copy or per day. A thousand downloads of one photograph is one work. Second, all parts of a compilation or derivative work count as one work. (17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(1).) Fifty photographs registered together as a compilation may be one work for this purpose, which is why how a work was registered matters as much as whether it was.

How courts pick a number inside the range

The statute says "as the court considers just" and little more. Judges in the Central District generally look at the license fee the owner would have charged, the infringer's profits, and the need to deter the infringer and others. They also ask whether the infringer cooperated or lied, and whether the use continued after notice. A single unlicensed photo on a small business website, taken down on request, tends to draw an award closer to the floor than the ceiling. Willfulness, which includes reckless disregard and continuing after a demand, is what moves awards toward six figures.

The registration condition

Nothing above is available unless registration came first. No statutory damages or attorney fees may be awarded for infringement of an unpublished work that began before registration. The same bar applies to a published work when the infringement began after publication and before registration, unless the work was registered within three months after first publication. (17 U.S.C. § 412.) The owner who registers after discovering the copying is limited to actual damages and profits for that infringer.

This is the most common reason a claim is worth less than the demand letter says, and the first thing we check. Our copyright registration guide covers how to register, and our page on the Section 411 requirement explains why registration must precede the lawsuit itself.

Copyright attorney fees under Section 505

The court may award full costs and a reasonable attorney fee to the prevailing party. (17 U.S.C. § 505.) The provision is symmetrical: a defendant who defeats a weak claim can recover fees just as an owner who proves infringement can. The Supreme Court has directed trial courts to give substantial weight to the objective reasonableness of the losing party's position, while still considering frivolousness, motivation, and the need for compensation and deterrence in the particular case. (Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2016) 579 U.S. 197, 136 S.Ct. 1979, 1988-1989.)

A fee award is therefore likely when the other side's position was unreasonable and unlikely when the case was close. For a business accused, a thin claim pressed anyway carries real risk for the claimant, which helps in negotiation.

Other remedies

Injunctions against continued use are commonly granted when infringement is shown, and the court can order infringing copies destroyed. For a business whose catalog or software was copied, the injunction is often worth more than the money. Our copyright case study shows a matter where stopping the use mattered most.

What to bring to the first meeting

Bring the registration certificate with its effective date and the date the work was first published. Bring your license rates, your sales records for the period, and any evidence of the infringer's revenue. If you are the defendant, bring records showing where the material came from, when you learned of the claim, and what you did in response. Our page on the elements of infringement covers the liability side.

Frequently asked questions

What are statutory damages for copyright infringement?

A fixed range the owner can elect instead of proving actual loss: not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed, as the court considers just. The ceiling rises to $150,000 for willful infringement and the floor drops to $200 for innocent infringement. (17 U.S.C. § 504(c).) They require timely registration. (17 U.S.C. § 412.)

How much can I get for copyright infringement?

Either your actual damages plus the infringer's attributable profits, or statutory damages within the ranges above. For a single stock-style image, courts often award a multiple of the license fee. For deliberate commercial copying of software, designs, or a catalog, awards and settlements run much higher. Registration timing controls which measure is available.

Can I recover attorney fees in a copyright case?

Yes, if you are the prevailing party and the court exercises its discretion to award them. (17 U.S.C. § 505.) The court gives substantial weight to whether the losing side's position was objectively reasonable. (Kirtsaeng, 136 S.Ct. at pp. 1988-1989.) Fees are unavailable to a plaintiff whose registration came too late under Section 412.

Is each copy a separate infringement for statutory damages?

No. Statutory damages are awarded per work infringed, not per copy, per download, or per day. All parts of a compilation or derivative work count as one work. (17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(1).)

What makes copyright infringement willful?

Courts treat infringement as willful when the defendant knew its conduct infringed or acted in reckless disregard of the owner's rights. Continuing to use a work after a demand letter, removing copyright notices or watermarks, and ignoring a license you had read are the usual proof. Willfulness opens the door to the $150,000 ceiling. (17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2).)

Talk to a California copyright litigation attorney

If you are pursuing or defending a copyright claim, call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is at 327 Magnet, Irvine, CA 92618, and represents businesses in Orange County, Los Angeles, and throughout California. See also our pages on responding to a copyright demand letter and intellectual property litigation.

This page provides general information about federal copyright law and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the registration date, the evidence of willfulness, and the court.