Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
Crimes by Code
Every crime in California is defined by a specific code section. Our attorneys explain the law, penalties and best defense strategies for every major crime in California.
California DUI
DUI arrests don't always lead to convictions in court. Police officer mistakes, faulty breathalyzers and crime lab errors may get your charges reduced or dismissed. Visit our California DUI page to learn more.
Post Conviction
A criminal record can affect job, immigration, licensing and even housing opportunities. In this section, we offer solutions for clearing up your prior record.
Please note: Our firm only handles criminal and DUI cases, and only in California. We do not handle any of the following cases:
And we do not handle any cases outside of California.
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The United States Copyright Act generally prohibits the copying of other people’s creative content. Photos are no exception.
It doesn’t matter whether the copyright holder has registered the image for copyright protection. The copyright in photos and other artwork exists automatically from the moment of their creation.
Copyright violations in images can occur in several ways:
In most cases of non-commercial use, you will simply receive a “cease and desist” letter from the copyright holder or a representative. The letter will tell you are violating someone’s copyright and demand that you immediately stop using the image. It may also request confirmation that you have done so.
However, the copyright holder has the right to take you to court without prior warning and will often do so if you fail to comply with the cease and desist demand.
Copyright is governed by United States law (rather than state law), so most copyright claims are heard in federal court.
Remedies the courts are authorized to give include:
Additionally, if you use the image on commercial goods, such as posters or t-shirts, the court can order the seizure and impoundment of the infringing articles.
In addition to civil penalties, you also face potential criminal consequences for copyright infringement.
Under 18 U.S. Code 2319, you commit a crime when you willfully infringe someone’s copyright and the infringement was committed for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain.4
As a misdemeanor, criminal punishment for willful copyright infringement can include:
There is also an increased penalty for repeat offenders, authorizing a sentence of up to 10 years.
Note that parole is not available in the federal system. This means that if you are convicted of copyright infringement – even as a misdemeanor – you will serve your entire sentence in a federal facility.
Royalty free images are not the same as images in the public domain. A public domain image is one that is not subject to copyright. Usually, this is because the work is old and has fallen out of copyright protection.
A royalty free image requires a license and a one-time fee. The license may be subject to restrictions (such as no commercial use or obtaining a model release from anyone shown in the photo).
After payment of the initial fee of a royalty-free license, you may use the image as many times as you like, as long as the user is one permitted by the license.
There are a number of ways to find free images for use on the internet.
Note, however, that fair use is an affirmative defense. You can still be charged with a copyright violation by the owner of the work. As defending a copyright violation suit can run into the tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars, we advise consulting with a copyright lawyer before using a copyrighted work in any significant way.
And if you do find yourself facing criminal copyright infringement charges, we invite you to call us for help. We represent clients accused of crimes in California, Nevada and Colorado.
However, with so many great works available for free, non-commercial website users shouldn’t need us. Simply follow this one simple rule: when in doubt — leave it out. (See our related article, How social media can hurt your defense in Nevada.)
A former Los Angeles prosecutor, attorney Neil Shouse graduated with honors from UC Berkeley and Harvard Law School (and completed additional graduate studies at MIT). He has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Dr Phil, The Today Show and Court TV. Mr Shouse has been recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as one of the Top 100 Criminal and Top 100 Civil Attorneys.