Legal Question in Intellectual Property in New York

Hi, I would like to ask about copywright law. If a file was downloaded illegally, and latter on that file was bought legally, it was downloaded from the official site and paid, has the copywright law been broken? Or can it be assumed that the damage has been corrected? Thank you very much.


Asked on 10/18/11, 12:03 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Nancy Delain Delain Law Office, PLLC

The copyright law was broken. The illegal download broke the law (that's why it's called an "illegal" download). That the downloader later tried to make things right by purchasing the content might show good faith when it comes to a court case, and damages to the copyright holder might be mitigated based on the subsequent purchase, but the law was indeed broken when the content was downloaded without payment.

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Answered on 10/24/11, 10:02 am


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