We represent photographers, authors, musicians, software developers, designers, and businesses in copyright infringement claims, from the first takedown notice to federal court.
Request a case evaluation How a claim worksOur work focuses on enforcing copyrights and defending the people who own them.
We file and try copyright cases in U.S. federal district courts, including claims for actual damages, profits, statutory damages, injunctions, and attorney's fees.
We prepare compliant § 512(c)(3) notices, pursue repeat infringers, and use § 512(h) subpoenas to identify anonymous infringers.
We register your works with the U.S. Copyright Office, including expedited registration when a lawsuit is urgent, and help correct registration errors.
Many claims resolve through a well-documented demand letter and negotiated license, payment, or removal agreement.
For smaller claims, we can assist with the Copyright Office's streamlined tribunal for damages up to $30,000.
We handle work-for-hire disputes, assignment and termination-of-transfer issues, and breach of license claims.
Counter-notifications, account restoration, and claims against websites, apps, and print-on-demand sellers.
If you received a demand letter or complaint, we evaluate fair use, ownership, registration defects, and damages exposure.
Every case is different, but a typical claim follows these stages.
We review what you created, who owns it, where the copy appears, and what it cost you. We look at the strength of your claim, likely defenses such as fair use, and whether the defendant can pay a judgment.
We capture the infringing pages with dates and URLs, collect your original files and metadata, and document your first publication date and any licenses you granted.
For U.S. works, the Copyright Office must register your work, or refuse registration, before you can sue (17 U.S.C. § 411). If you have not registered, we file now, using expedited handling if a deadline requires it. Registration timing also determines whether you can recover statutory damages and fees (§ 412).
We send DMCA notices to hosts and platforms. When the infringer is anonymous, we ask the court clerk to issue a § 512(h) subpoena to uncover their identity.
We send a demand letter that sets out your claim, the damages exposure under § 504, and a proposed resolution. Most disputes settle at this stage.
If the matter does not settle, we file in federal district court (28 U.S.C. §§ 1338, 1400), seek injunctive relief where warranted, and pursue damages and fees. For smaller claims, the Copyright Claims Board may be a faster, less expensive option.
We take discovery on copying, access, profits, and willfulness, litigate summary judgment, and try the case if necessary. We also pursue enforcement of the judgment.
Civil copyright claims must generally be filed within three years (17 U.S.C. § 507(b)). Waiting can also reduce the evidence available and, if you have not registered, may limit the remedies you can recover. Contact us as soon as you discover a possible infringement.
| Remedy | What it means | Statute |
|---|---|---|
| Actual damages and profits | Your provable losses (lost licensing fees, lost sales) plus profits the infringer earned from the copying. | § 504(b) |
| Statutory damages | A court-set amount per work infringed, chosen instead of actual damages at any time before final judgment. | § 504(c) |
| Attorney's fees and costs | The court may order the losing side to pay the prevailing party's fees, subject to timely registration. | §§ 412, 505 |
| Injunction | A court order that stops the infringing use and prevents future infringement. | § 502 |
| Impoundment and destruction | Seizure and destruction of infringing copies and equipment. | § 503 |
| DMCA statutory damages | For removing copyright management information or circumventing access controls. | § 1203 |
Remedies depend on the facts, the registration date, and the court's discretion. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Summaries of the principal federal statutes that govern copyright ownership, infringement, remedies, and online enforcement. The official text of Title 17 is available at copyright.gov/title17 and the full U.S. Code at uscode.house.gov.
Defines key terms such as "work made for hire," "derivative work," "fixed," "publication," "transfer of copyright ownership," and "audiovisual work."
Protects original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium: literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, motion pictures and audiovisual works, sound recordings, and architectural works. Under § 102(b), copyright never extends to ideas, procedures, processes, systems, or methods of operation.
Copyright in a compilation or derivative work covers only the new material contributed by the author, not the pre-existing material.
Copyright vests initially in the author. For a work made for hire, the employer or commissioning party is the author. Co-authors are co-owners of the whole work.
Authors (or their heirs) may terminate certain grants made on or after 1978, generally during a five-year window beginning 35 years after the grant, on advance written notice.
A transfer of ownership, other than by operation of law, requires a signed writing. Exclusive licenses count as transfers.
Recording a transfer with the Copyright Office gives constructive notice and sets priority between conflicting transfers.
Federal copyright law preempts equivalent state-law rights for works within the subject matter of copyright.
Generally the life of the author plus 70 years. For anonymous, pseudonymous, and works made for hire: 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first.
The owner has the exclusive right to reproduce the work, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, perform the work publicly, display it publicly, and (for sound recordings) perform it by digital audio transmission.
Authors of works of visual art have rights of attribution and integrity, including the right to prevent distortion, mutilation, or destruction of recognized stature works.
Courts weigh four factors: (1) purpose and character of the use, including whether it is transformative or commercial; (2) nature of the work; (3) amount and substantiality used; and (4) effect on the potential market for the work.
Includes library and archive copying (§ 108), the first sale doctrine (§ 109), certain educational and nonprofit performances (§ 110), and compulsory licenses for specific uses.
A notice (©, year, owner) is optional for works published after March 1, 1989, but defeats an "innocent infringer" defense when displayed.
Registration is voluntary but is a precondition to suit for U.S. works. A certificate made before or within five years of first publication is prima facie evidence of validity (§ 410(c)).
No civil action for infringement of a U.S. work may be filed until the Copyright Office has registered the work or refused registration (Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com, 2019).
Statutory damages and attorney's fees are generally unavailable for infringement that began before registration, unless the work was registered within three months of first publication.
Anyone who violates an exclusive right is an infringer. The legal or beneficial owner of an exclusive right may sue.
Courts may issue temporary and permanent injunctions to stop or prevent infringement.
Courts may order impoundment of infringing copies and the equipment used to make them, and destruction as part of a final judgment.
The owner may recover actual damages plus the infringer's profits, or elect statutory damages: $750 to $30,000 per work infringed, up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement, and as low as $200 for innocent infringement.
The court may award full costs and a reasonable attorney's fee to the prevailing party, in its discretion.
Willful infringement for commercial advantage or private financial gain, or of works with a total retail value above $1,000 within 180 days, may be prosecuted. See also 18 U.S.C. § 2319.
Civil actions must be brought within three years after the claim accrued. Many federal circuits apply a discovery rule, and the Supreme Court held in Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy (2024) that damages are not capped at three years when a timely claim is brought under that rule.
Limits liability for providers acting as conduits, caches, hosts, or information location tools if they meet conditions, including a registered agent, a repeat infringer policy, and expeditious removal on valid notice.
Specifies the six elements a valid notice must contain (see our DMCA procedure below).
Allows a user whose material was removed to request restoration, and sets a 10 to 14 business day window for restoring unless the complainant files suit.
A copyright owner may ask a federal court clerk to issue a subpoena requiring a service provider to disclose the identity of an alleged infringer, accompanied by a sworn declaration and a copy of the notice.
A person who knowingly and materially misrepresents that material is infringing, or was removed by mistake, is liable for damages, costs, and attorney's fees.
Prohibits circumventing technological measures that control access to copyrighted works, and trafficking in circumvention tools, subject to periodic rulemaking exemptions.
Prohibits removing or altering CMI (author name, title, copyright notice, license terms) or providing false CMI with intent to induce or conceal infringement.
Statutory damages of $200 to $2,500 per act of circumvention, and $2,500 to $25,000 per violation of § 1202, plus injunctions and attorney's fees.
Willful violations for commercial advantage or private financial gain may be punished by fines and imprisonment.
A voluntary, lower-cost tribunal within the Copyright Office for claims up to $30,000 in total damages. Respondents may opt out within 60 days of service, in which case the claim does not proceed.
Federal district courts have original and exclusive jurisdiction over civil actions arising under the Copyright Act.
Copyright actions may be brought in the district where the defendant or its agent resides or may be found.
Sets sentencing ranges for criminal copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 506.
Last updated October 1, 2021. DCMA SPANISHYOURWAY, P.C. respects the intellectual property rights of others and complies with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512. If you believe material on https://www.dcma.spanishyourway.net infringes your copyright, send a notice using the procedure below.
Your written notice must include all of the following:
Consider fair use (17 U.S.C. § 107) before sending a notice. Knowing misrepresentations carry liability under § 512(f).
If your material was removed by mistake or misidentification, send a counter-notification with:
We forward counter-notifications to the complainant and may restore material 10 to 14 business days later unless the complainant files suit.
We terminate the accounts of users who are repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances.
Tell us what happened. An attorney will review your request and let you know whether we can help.
Do not include confidential or privileged information. Sending this form does not create an attorney-client relationship. We cannot represent you until we agree in writing.