U.S. Code » Title 18 » Part PART I— CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 113— STOLEN PROPERTY

18 U.S.C. § 2319

Criminal infringement of a copyright

Read at: OLRCuscode.house.gov CornellLII GovInfogovinfo.gov JustiaTitle 18 CasesGoogle Scholar
(a) Any person who violates section 506(a) (relating to criminal offenses) of title 17 shall be punished as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d) 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)(A) 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 $2,500;(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 felony and is a second or subsequent offense under subsection (a); 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)(1)(B) of title 17—(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 $2,500 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 felony and is a second or subsequent offense under subsection (a); 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 $1,000.(d) Any person who commits an offense under section 506(a)(1)(C) of title 17—(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 3 years, fined under this title, or both;(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 5 years, fined under this title, or both, if the offense was committed for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;(3) shall be imprisoned not more than 6 years, fined under this title, or both, if the offense is a felony and is a second or subsequent offense under subsection (a); and(4) shall be imprisoned not more than 10 years, fined under this title, or both, if the offense is a felony and is a second or subsequent offense under paragraph (2).(e)(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.(f) 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;(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 122, of title 17;(3) the term “financial gain” has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 17; and(4) the term “work being prepared for commercial distribution” has the meaning given the term in section 506(a) 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; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III, § 13211(a), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1910; Pub. L. 109–9, title I, § 103(b), Apr. 27, 2005, 119 Stat. 220; Pub. L. 110–403, title II, § 208, Oct. 13, 2008, 122 Stat. 4263.)Editorial NotesReferences in Text

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

Amendments

2008—Subsecs. (b)(2), (c)(2). Pub. L. 110–403, § 208(1), (2), inserted “is a felony and” after “the offense” and substituted “subsection (a)” for “paragraph (1)”.

Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 110–403, § 208(3), inserted “is a felony and” after “the offense” and “under subsection (a)” before the semicolon.

Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 110–403, § 208(4), inserted “is a felony and” after “the offense”.

2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(1), substituted “Any person who” for “Whoever” and “, (c), and (d)” for “and (c) of this section”.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(2), substituted “section 506(a)(1)(A)” for “section 506(a)(1)” in introductory provisions.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(3), substituted “section 506(a)(1)(B) of title 17” for “section 506(a)(2) of title 17, United States Code” in introductory provisions.

Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(4), (5), added subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e). Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f).

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(4), (6), redesignated subsec. (e) as (f) and added pars. (3) and (4).

2002—Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “107 through 122” for “107 through 120”.

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 $2,500” for “with a retail value of more than $2,500”.

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 $250,000 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 $250,000 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 $25,000 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).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 108 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1983–2025 · leading case: Dowling v. United States
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Dowling v. United States (1985) scotus · cites it 4× “" 18 U. S. C. § 2319 (a) (emphasis added). The Senate Judiciary Committee specifically added the italicized language to clarify that the new provision "supplement[s] existing remedies contained in the copyright law or any other law.”
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd. (2005) scotus · cites it 2× “, 18 U. S. C. § 2319 (2000 ed. and Supp. II) (criminal copyright infringement); § 1961(1)(B) (2000 ed.”
Omar Jaso v. Coca Cola Company (2011) ca5 · cites it 4× “Jaso’s RICO Claim Jaso next contends that the district court’s refusal to allow him to amend his complaint was in error because his proposed second amended complaint alleged that Defendants’ infringement of Jaso’s copyright in “El Juego” was criminal copyright infringement in…”
United States v. Roosevelt Anderson, Jr. (2013) ca9 · cites it 2× “§ 506 (a)(1)(A) and 18 U.S.C. § 2319 (b)(1). Anderson contends that the district court erred: (1) by giving an incorrect jury instruction on willfulness; (2) by allowing the government to introduce evidence of uncharged acts of infringement; and (3) in calculating restitution.”
United States v. Chalupnik (2008) ca8 · cites it 2× “§ 506 (a) and 18 U.S.C. § 2319 (b)(3). The district court sentenced Chalupnik to two years probation and ordered him to pay BMG restitution in an amount equal to his documented sales proceeds, $78,818.”
ZARAGOZA-VAQUERO (2016) bia · cites it 7× “§ 506 (a)(1)(A) (2012) and 18 U.S.C. § 2319 (b)(1) (2012) is a crime involving moral turpitude.”
United States v. Vampire Nation A/K/A Fredrik Von Hamilton A/K/A Frederick Hamilton Banks, Frederick H. Banks (2006) ca3 “§ 506 (a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2319 (b)(1) (Count Four); one count of money laundering, 18 U.”
United States v. Barbara Gottesman (1984) ca11 · cites it 4× “§ 506 (a) and its amendments, the Piracy and Counterfeiting Amendments of 1982, 18 U.S.C. § 2319 , preclude the application of section 2314 to cases of willful copyright infringement.”
United States v. William Richard Minor (1988) ca9 · cites it 2× “§ 506 (a) (1982); 18 U.S.C. § 2319 (b)(3) (1982). Federal law, both now and at the time of Minor's offenses, provides for more severe fines or sentences for sizable infringements of copyrights in sound recordings, motion pictures and other audiovisual works.”
United States v. Earnest H. Cross, Diana Fleek and Richard Denney (1987) ca7 · cites it 4× “§ 506 (a) and 18 U.S.C. § 2319 (b)(2)(B). Count II charged the appellants with the substantive offense of criminal infringement of a copyright in violation of 17 U.”
Iconics, Inc. v. Massaro (2016) mad · cites it 2× “ICONICS alleges that defendants’ RICO activity was comprised of criminal copyright infringement under 18 U.S.C. § 2319 , fraud against the bankruptcy court, and obstruction of justice under 18 U.”
Dominique Wallace v. United States (2022) ca6 “2008); 18 U.S.C. § 2319 (b)(1)–(2). He pleaded guilty to one of the most serious of felonies—attempted second-degree murder.”
Show all 108 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.