Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Hello,

I've been charged with (federal) criminal copyright infringement for selling dvds online almost five years ago.

I'm trying to find out what is the statute of limitations of Criminal copyright infringement. I've read that's it's three years and/or five years. I've done some research and I have yet to find a criminal copyright case where the defendant was charged outside of the three year period.

I found this below from the US attorney manual:

1860 Copyright Infringement�Statute of Limitations

It is important to note that criminal copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. � 506(a) and related offenses under Title 18 are subject to different statutes of limitations. Prosecutions of Title 18 offenses generally must be commenced within five years of the date of the crime itself. See 18 U.S.C. � 3282. In contrast, 17 U.S.C. � 507(a) provides that "[n]o criminal proceedings shall be maintained under the provisions of this title unless it is commenced within three years after the cause of action arose." See United States v. Shabazz, 724 F.2d 1536, 1540 (11th Cir. 1984). Thus, felony cases of criminal copyright infringement under section 2319 of Title 18 also must be brought within three years of the commission of the crime, as the statute which contains the actual criminal prohibition is 17 U.S.C. � 506.

PRACTICE TIP: In some cases, Title 17 offenses which are clearly barred by the statute of limitations may still be prosecutable as violations of Title 18.

I was charged with one count title 17 and one count title 18. I don't understand how they can charge me with title 17, as it def. past three years since the infringement. Are they in error in charging me almost five years later with one count of title 18?

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