Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: copyright damages based on royalty

Yes. It's almost midnight, so I can't do any case-law research for you right now, but damages in copyright cases are intended, among other things, to compensate the victim of infringement for its losses. Actually, the Copyright Act doesn't speak in terms of compensation for losses, but rather in terms of restoring profits made by the infringer to the copyright holder, which is about the same thing but viewed from a different perspective.

I suggest finding the Copyright Act of 1976 on line and looking at Chapter 5 on infringement and remedies, especially Section 504.

If your case involves rebroadcasting or webcasting of sound recordings (music), there is a lot of recent law that I don't understand, but it's a hot topic for specialists in the entertainment, Web and broadcasting businesses. If so, look at Section 115(c), 116 and most of Chapter 8 to see if this seems to apply.

Contact me directly with more details if you want me to find you a couple of cases.