Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Washington
Image copyright violations on the Internet
If a person creates a for-profit Internet web site that features images taken from a Usenet newsgroup, and some percentage of those images turn out to be owned by another individual or business, what kind of financial (or other) liability might the person have to face?
Can the person be sued for more than the total profit made by the web site that used the copyrighted images?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Image copyright violations on the Internet
It's always risky to use images found on the Internet without specific permission from the owner of those images. It is a common, but incorrect, impression that if images are found on the Internet (or UseNet groups) that they are in the "public domain." Using images without permission in a for-profit situation gives rise to liability for copyright infringement.
17 U.S.C. 504 provides for damages for copyright infringement in an amount of up to $30,000 per image, or $150,000 per image for willful infringement.
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