Statutory damages are a damage award in civil law, in which the amount awarded is stipulated within the statute rather than being calculated based on the degree of harm to the plaintiff. Lawmakers will provide for statutory damages for acts in which it is difficult to determine a precise value of the loss suffered by the victim. This could be because calculation of a value is impractical, such as in intellectual property cases where the volume of the infringement cannot be ascertained. It could also be because the nature of the injury is subjective, such as in cases of a violation of a person's rights. The award might serve not only as compensation but also for deterrence, and it is more likely to succeed in serving a deterrence function when the potential defendants are relatively sophisticated parties.[1] Other functions that can be served by statutory damages include reducing administrative costs and clarifying the consequences of violating the law.[1]
The amount of statutory damages can be set on a per-incident basis, such as in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which gives statutory damages of up to $1,000 for a violation of its provisions.[2] Amounts could also be set per day, as in acts proscribing human-rights violations which might specify damages of $1,000 per day.[3] The term also applies wherein damages are a multiple of what the legally entitled payment would have been in the matter, which would be typical for copyright or trademark infringement.
The principle of in pari delicto applies,[4] preventing people from suing others for crimes in which they also are equally at fault.
In intellectual property cases (relating to copyright or trademark, for instance), it is often difficult for plaintiffs to determine the exact volume of infringement. Thus, statutory damages are often calculated as a multiple of the price for the use of the property, if the infringer had requested and paid for permission.[5] Other statutes may set a fixed amount for each day the violation occurred, for each violation, work, article, or type of good.
In the United States, statutory damages are set at a minimum of $750 per work, to a maximum of $150,000.[6] In Europe, directive 2004/48/EC on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights bases the damages on, "the amount of royalties which would have been due if the infringer has requested authorisation".[5]
The Lanham (Trademark) Act provides for minimum damages of $1000 and a maximum of $2,000,000 (if willful) for using a counterfeit trademark in commerce (15 U.S.C. § 1117(c), Lanham Act Section 35(c).) [7]
One area of debate between legal and economic scholars that pertains to the quantification of statutory patent damages is whether the court may rely on information that postdates the determined date of the hypothetical negotiation between the patent holder and the alleged infringer. Some commentators argue that the court should rely on postdate information to deter patent infringement and ensure the patent holder's adequate compensation,[9] while others argue that doing so would "give the potential licensee a free option to infringe, which would discourage the potential licensee from promptly entering into a licensing agreement."[10]
^"Public Act No. 06-43". State of Connecticut. 8 May 2006. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
^"in pari delicto". Law.com. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
^ ab. World Intellectual Property Organization. Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
^"Circular 92, Title 17, Section 504.c.1". United States Copyright office. October 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
^"15 U.S.C. 1117. Recovery for violation of rights". Cornell University. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
^"TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 119 > § 2520". Cornell University Law School. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
^Michael K. Dunbar & Roman L. Weil, Ex Ante Versus Ex Post Damages Calculations, in LITIGATION SERVICES HANDBOOK: THE ROLE OF THE FINANCIAL EXPERT § 5.4.b.i (Roman L. Weil, Daniel G. Lentz & David P. Hoffman eds., Wiley 5th ed. 2012).
Samuel L. Bray, Announcing Remedies, 97 Cornell Law Review 753 (2012).
Sheila B. Scheuerman, Due Process Forgotten: The Problem of Statutory Damages and Class Actions 74 Missouri Law Review 103 (2009)
January 01, 1970
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Statutory damages are a damage award in civil law in which the amount awarded is stipulated within the statute rather than being calculated based on the degree of harm to the plaintiff Lawmakers will provide for statutory damages for acts in which it is difficult to determine a precise value of the loss suffered by the victim This could be because calculation of a value is impractical such as in intellectual property cases where the volume of the infringement cannot be ascertained It could also be because the nature of the injury is subjective such as in cases of a violation of a person s rights The award might serve not only as compensation but also for deterrence and it is more likely to succeed in serving a deterrence function when the potential defendants are relatively sophisticated parties 1 Other functions that can be served by statutory damages include reducing administrative costs and clarifying the consequences of violating the law 1 The amount of statutory damages can be set on a per incident basis such as in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act which gives statutory damages of up to 1 000 for a violation of its provisions 2 Amounts could also be set per day as in acts proscribing human rights violations which might specify damages of 1 000 per day 3 The term also applies wherein damages are a multiple of what the legally entitled payment would have been in the matter which would be typical for copyright or trademark infringement The principle of in pari delicto applies 4 preventing people from suing others for crimes in which they also are equally at fault Contents 1 Intellectual property 2 Civil rights 3 See also 4 References 5 Further readingIntellectual property editIn intellectual property cases relating to copyright or trademark for instance it is often difficult for plaintiffs to determine the exact volume of infringement Thus statutory damages are often calculated as a multiple of the price for the use of the property if the infringer had requested and paid for permission 5 Other statutes may set a fixed amount for each day the violation occurred for each violation work article or type of good In the United States statutory damages are set at a minimum of 750 per work to a maximum of 150 000 6 In Europe directive 2004 48 EC on the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights bases the damages on the amount of royalties which would have been due if the infringer has requested authorisation 5 The Lanham Trademark Act provides for minimum damages of 1000 and a maximum of 2 000 000 if willful for using a counterfeit trademark in commerce 15 U S C 1117 c Lanham Act Section 35 c 7 The Electronic Communications Privacy Act provides for statutory damages for various wiretap offences of 100 per day up to 10000 8 One area of debate between legal and economic scholars that pertains to the quantification of statutory patent damages is whether the court may rely on information that postdates the determined date of the hypothetical negotiation between the patent holder and the alleged infringer Some commentators argue that the court should rely on postdate information to deter patent infringement and ensure the patent holder s adequate compensation 9 while others argue that doing so would give the potential licensee a free option to infringe which would discourage the potential licensee from promptly entering into a licensing agreement 10 Civil rights editCalifornia s Unruh Civil Rights Act Civ Code 51 section 52 provides for minimum damages of 4000 11 for victims of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act See also editStatutory damages for copyright infringementReferences edit a b Bray Samuel L 2012 Announcing Remedies Cornell Law Review 97 753 SSRN 1967184 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Section 813 a 2 A PDF Retrieved June 2 2010 Public Act No 06 43 State of Connecticut 8 May 2006 Retrieved 7 March 2011 in pari delicto Law com Retrieved 7 March 2011 a b Which kind of damages are available in IP disputes World Intellectual Property Organization Archived from the original on 2013 11 03 Retrieved 7 March 2011 Circular 92 Title 17 Section 504 c 1 United States Copyright office October 2009 Retrieved 7 March 2011 15 U S C 1117 Recovery for violation of rights Cornell University Retrieved 29 November 2011 TITLE 18 gt PART I gt CHAPTER 119 gt 2520 Cornell University Law School Retrieved 7 March 2011 Michael K Dunbar amp Roman L Weil Ex Ante Versus Ex Post Damages Calculations in LITIGATION SERVICES HANDBOOK THE ROLE OF THE FINANCIAL EXPERT 5 4 b i Roman L Weil Daniel G Lentz amp David P Hoffman eds Wiley 5th ed 2012 J Gregory Sidak How Relevant Is Justice Cardozo s Book of Wisdom to Patent Damages 16 COLUMBIA SCI amp TECH L REV at 28 forthcoming 2016 https www criterioneconomics com justice cardozos book of wisdom and patent damages html Unintentional discrimination yields unexpected winfall Nixon Peabody Retrieved 7 March 2011 Further reading editSamuel L Bray Announcing Remedies 97 Cornell Law Review 753 2012 Sheila B Scheuerman Due Process Forgotten The Problem of Statutory Damages and Class Actions 74 Missouri Law Review 103 2009 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Statutory damages amp oldid 969042720, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
