A question about the 3 month rule

[breakaway]

What is the name of your state? CA

I understand that if copyright is registered within 3 months of publication, then there could be benefits in awarding damages.
What happens if you don't register a copyright, and someone infringes a week later? Is it too late to register a copyright to be awarded those added benefits, or is it still okay as long as it's within 3 months of publication?

 

[quincy]

You need to register before any infringement to receive the benefits that timely registration affords you, which is the legal presumption that your copyright is valid. Timely registration (registration within 3 months of the publication date or before infringement begins) allows you to recover up to $100,000 without you having to prove that you suffered actual monetary losses due to the infringement.

 

[CavemanLawyer]

The 3 month rule is just a grace period. If someone were to infringe your copyright within the first 3 months after publication, you can still receive statutory damages so long as you ultimately register before the end of that third month. Once registered, any later infringement would entitle you to statutory damages.

 

[breakaway]

okay, so the 2 responses I got on this thread are contradictory! lol

 

[quincy]

It sort of sounds that way, but our responses aren't really contradictory.

The amount of statutory damages is decided by the court. There are certain statutory limits for copyright infringement. These limits for infringement are generally no less than $500 to no more than $20,000 in damages that can be awarded. The maximum possible amount of statutory damages that can be awarded is, however, increased to $150,000 if the copyright holder has registered within 3 months of publication and prior to any infringement. There is no need to prove damages. The minimum possible can also be reduced, to $200, if the infringer can prove he did not know the work was copyrighted.

Statutory damages and attorneys' fees may not be awarded when the copyright was not registered prior to infringement, if the infringement occurred more than 3 months after the work was published. If the infringement occurred less than 3 months after the work was published, and the work is registered within 3 months of publication but after the infringement, statutory damages can still be awarded, but not the maximum possible.

And the copyright holder can always request actual damages instead, if the amount of financial injury sustained by the infringement is substantial, or the profits made by the infringer are great.

 

[divgradcurl]

I agree with quincy, except for one piece:

The maximum possible amount of statutory damages that can be awarded is, however, increased to $150,000 if the copyright holder has registered within 3 months of publication and prior to any infringement.

No, to get to the $150,000 mark, you have to show willful copyright infringement, which usually requires that the alleged infringer be put o notice by the copyright holder that the work they are copying is both copyrighted AND the copyright holder believe they are infringing. If such notice is given, and the infringer continue on his or her path, and then gets sued and loses, the infringer can be found liable for willful infringement, and that's where the $150,000 statutory number comes from.

EDIT: I donn't think the 3 month rule is completely correct either, specifically:

If the infringement occurred less than 3 months after the work was published, and the work is registered within 3 months of publication but after the infringement, statutory damages can still be awarded, but not the maximum possible.

I don't think there is anything in the copyright code that limits the awarding of statutory damages in this way. As long as the work is registered within three months of publication, the owner can be awarded statutory damages for infringement that occurs after publication.

Also, the maximum statutory award for non-willful infringement is $30,000, not $20,000. See 17 U.S.C. 504(c)(1).