Damages under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act

• Author: Eric M. Stahl - Henry J. Tashman
• Pages: 77-87

I. Overview

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), enacted in 1998,

addresses a variety of issues related to digital works and online uses.

The statute prohibits, among other things, activity that circumvents

copy-protection technologies, as well as the removal or alteration of

“copyright management information” (CMI) from copyrighted works.

The remedies for circumvention and CMI violations are found in 17

U.S.C. § 1203. They include plaintiff’s actual damages, defendant’s prof-

its, and statutory damages. But, as discussed in section II.B below, the

calculation of DMCA damages differs from the calculation of the analo-

gous remedies applicable to copyright infringement under section 504.

Separately, section 512 of the DMCA provides online service provid-

ers with “safe harbor” immunity from infringement liability as long

as they implement and follow statutory takedown procedures. As dis-

cussed in section III below, the DMCA provides a cause of action for

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CHAPTER 5

Damages under the Digital

Millennium Copyright Act

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