Kevin Gowen wrote:

> Yes, the copyright owner can sue for the profits that the infringer made
> as well as the damage he suffered i.e. the profit he would have made.
> You can learn more my reading this section on infringement and remedies:
> http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html

Thanks.

Hmm. Only "profits" in terms of actual damages, or statutory damages of "not
more than $150,000"? What about companies who allege they lose millions/billions
or go bankrupt to piracy, but the pirates claim not to be making much off the
work?

> >>Sometimes. Mistake of law is not an excuse ("I didn't know it was
> >>against the law") but mistake of fact sometimes is. For example, while
> >>leaving a restaurant on a rainy day, you take someone else's umbrella
> >>out of the umbrella rack while honestly believing it to be your own. You
> >>have not committed larceny.
> >
> > BTW, what does happen when a person is caught knowingly receiving stolen
> > property, such as buying a TV out of the trunk of someone's car?
>
> By statute in most (all?) states, the person who knowingly receives the
> stolen goods is liable as if he were the principal thief.

Is this why entertainment companies are being so harsh with those they go after
for mp3 downloads or file sharing?

Wow. I haven't seen this:

http://tinyurl.com/7xx2b

US Justice Department ready to prosecute file-swappers

"Americans should realise that swapping illicit copies of music and movies is a
criminal offense that can result in lengthy prison terms."

Woo hoo. I thought companies were only demanding hundreds of thousands of
dollars in cash from users. This is going to be very interesting indeed:

"Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Electronics Association, said he was
sceptical about the view that peer-to-peer piracy should be a criminal offense.
'If we have 70 million people in the United States who are breaking the law, we
have a big issue.'"

Has this ever been successfully prosecuted as a criminal offense?

> The principal thief cannot be charged with receiving stolen goods.