Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Georgia

Hello,

I am developing a mobile application that is based on a database. The data that I have in the database were downloaded from a web-site. However on the Terms of Service they say that the data can only be used for non-commercial personal use. Well, I was going to put advertisement in my app, so it seems that it is no longer "non-commercial use".

My questions are:

1) What is the punshement could be if the original web-site owner finds out that I use their data without license?

2) How can they prove in the court that I actually use their data (actually their data is only part of the database -- about 60% of the whole database)? How possible that they have some "red flags" in the database that they can use in the court?

Thank you in advance


Asked on 12/14/10, 9:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Glen Ashman Ashman Law Office also dba Glen Ashman Attorney

Plan to spend a great deal of time in jail and lose a lot of money. Your customers also may face liability. Do not even think about committing such a serious felony. (Since law guru posts are searchable on Google, be aware that your statement here will likely be used in criminal and civil proceedings against you).

The owner of copyrighted software may sue the infringer in a civil case or charge the violator with a criminal offense.

The maximum civil penalty is usually $150,000 per infringement in a lawsuit for a copyright violation. This means that for every single program or work that was illegally copied and/or distributed, the infringer could have to pay $150,000. As you can imagine, a civil suit may cost a violator millions of dollars depending on how many copies you sell. You will also be divested of your profits.

You can also be charged with a criminal offense. In the United States, the maximum criminal penalty for copyright infringement is a fine of up to $250,000 and a jail sentence of up to five years for each act.

Stop before you ruin your life.

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Answered on 12/19/10, 9:17 pm


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