18 Usc 2319

§ 2319

TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322 substituted ‘‘fined
under this title’’ for ‘‘fined not more than $250,000’’.
Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 103–272 substituted ‘‘section
46501 of title 49’’ for ‘‘section 101 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958’’.
1990—Pub. L. 101–647 struck out comma after ‘‘phonorecords’’ in section catchline.
1982—Pub. L. 97–180 substituted ‘‘Trafficking in counterfeit labels for phonorecords, and copies of motion
pictures or other audiovisual works’’ for ‘‘Transportation, sale or receipt of phonograph records bearing
forged or counterfeit labels’’ in section catchline.
Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–180 substituted provision that
violators of this section shall be fined not more than
$250,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years or
both for provision that whoever knowingly and with
fraudulent intent transported, caused to be transported, received, sold, or offered for sale in interstate
or foreign commerce any phonograph record, disk, wire,
tape, film, or other article on which sounds were recorded, to which or upon which was stamped, pasted, or
affixed any forged or counterfeited label, knowing the
label to have been falsely made, forged, or counterfeited would be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, for the first
such offense and would be fined not more than $25,000
or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, for
any subsequent offense.
Subsecs. (b) to (e). Pub. L. 97–180 added subsecs. (b)
and (c), redesignated former subsecs. (b) and (c) as (d)
and (e), respectively, and in subsec. (d) as so redesignated struck out the comma after ‘‘judgment of conviction shall’’.
1976—Pub. L. 94–553 designated existing provisions as
subsec. (a) and substituted ‘‘$10,000’’ for ‘‘$25,000’’ and
‘‘$25,000’’ for ‘‘$50,000’’, and added subsecs. (b) and (c).
1974—Pub. L. 93–573 substituted ‘‘not more than
$25,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or
both, for the first offense and shall be fined not more
than $50,000 or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or
both, for any subsequent offense’’ for ‘‘not more than
$1,000 or imprisoned not more than one year or both’’.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 94–553 effective Jan. 1, 1978,
see section 102 of Pub. L. 94–553, set out as a note preceding section 101 of Title 17, Copyrights.
OTHER RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED BY ANTI-COUNTERFEITING
PROVISIONS
Pub. L. 108–482, title I, § 103, Dec. 23, 2004, 118 Stat.
3915, provided that:
‘‘(a) CHAPTERS 5 AND 12 OF TITLE 17; ELECTRONIC
TRANSMISSIONS.—The amendments made by this title
[amending this section]—
‘‘(1) shall not enlarge, diminish, or otherwise affect
any liability or limitations on liability under sections 512, 1201 or 1202 of title 17, United States Code;
and
‘‘(2) shall not be construed to apply—
‘‘(A) in any case, to the electronic transmission of
a genuine certificate, licensing document, registration card, similar labeling component, or documentation or packaging described in paragraph (4)
or (5) of section 2318(b) of title 18, United States
Code, as amended by this title; and
‘‘(B) in the case of a civil action under section
2318(f) [now 2318(e)] of title 18, United States Code,
to the electronic transmission of a counterfeit label
or counterfeit documentation or packaging defined
in paragraph (1) or (6) of section 2318(b) of title 18,
United States Code.
‘‘(b) FAIR USE.—The amendments made by this title
shall not affect the fair use, under section 107 of title
17, United States Code, of a genuine certificate, licensing document, registration card, similar labeling component, or documentation or packaging described in
paragraph (4) or (5) of section 2318(b) of title 18, United
States Code, as amended by this title.’’

Page 532

§ 2319. Criminal infringement of a copyright
(a) Any person who violates section 506(a) (relating to criminal offenses) of title 17 shall be
punished as provided in subsections (b), (c), and
(d) and such penalties shall be in addition to any
other provisions of title 17 or any other law.
(b) Any person who commits an offense under
section 506(a)(1)(A) of title 17—
(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 5
years, or fined in the amount set forth in this
title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution, including by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of at
least 10 copies or phonorecords, of 1 or more
copyrighted works, which have a total retail
value of more than $2,500;
(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 10
years, or fined in the amount set forth in this
title, or both, if the offense is a felony and is
a second or subsequent offense under subsection (a); and
(3) shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year,
or fined in the amount set forth in this title,
or both, in any other case.
(c) Any person who commits an offense under
section 506(a)(1)(B) of title 17—
(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 3
years, or fined in the amount set forth in this
title, or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution of 10 or more copies
or phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted
works, which have a total retail value of $2,500
or more;
(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 6
years, or fined in the amount set forth in this
title, or both, if the offense is a felony and is
a second or subsequent offense under subsection (a); and
(3) shall be imprisoned not more than 1 year,
or fined in the amount set forth in this title,
or both, if the offense consists of the reproduction or distribution of 1 or more copies or
phonorecords of 1 or more copyrighted works,
which have a total retail value of more than
$1,000.
(d) Any person who commits an offense under
section 506(a)(1)(C) of title 17—
(1) shall be imprisoned not more than 3
years, fined under this title, or both;
(2) shall be imprisoned not more than 5
years, fined under this title, or both, if the offense was committed for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain;
(3) shall be imprisoned not more than 6
years, fined under this title, or both, if the offense is a felony and is a second or subsequent
offense under subsection (a); and
(4) shall be imprisoned not more than 10
years, fined under this title, or both, if the offense is a felony and is a second or subsequent
offense under paragraph (2).
(e)(1) During preparation of the presentence
report pursuant to Rule 32(c) of the Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure, victims of the offense shall be permitted to submit, and the probation officer shall receive, a victim impact
statement that identifies the victim of the offense and the extent and scope of the injury and
loss suffered by the victim, including the esti-

Page 533

TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

mated economic impact of the offense on that
victim.
(2) Persons permitted to submit victim impact
statements shall include—
(A) producers and sellers of legitimate works
affected by conduct involved in the offense;
(B) holders of intellectual property rights in
such works; and
(C) the legal representatives of such producers, sellers, and holders.
(f) As used in this section—
(1) the terms ‘‘phonorecord’’ and ‘‘copies’’
have, respectively, the meanings set forth in
section 101 (relating to definitions) of title 17;
(2) the terms ‘‘reproduction’’ and ‘‘distribution’’ refer to the exclusive rights of a copyright owner under clauses (1) and (3) respectively of section 106 (relating to exclusive
rights in copyrighted works), as limited by
sections 107 through 122, of title 17;
(3) the term ‘‘financial gain’’ has the meaning given the term in section 101 of title 17;
and
(4) the term ‘‘work being prepared for commercial distribution’’ has the meaning given
the term in section 506(a) of title 17.
(Added Pub. L. 97–180, § 3, May 24, 1982, 96 Stat.
92; amended Pub. L. 102–561, Oct. 28, 1992, 106
Stat. 4233; Pub. L. 105–80, § 12(b)(2), Nov. 13, 1997,
111 Stat. 1536; Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d), Dec. 16, 1997,
111 Stat. 2678; Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title III,
§ 13211(a), Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1910; Pub. L.
109–9, title I, § 103(b), Apr. 27, 2005, 119 Stat. 220;
Pub. L. 110–403, title II, § 208, Oct. 13, 2008, 122
Stat. 4263.)
REFERENCES IN TEXT
The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, referred to
in subsec. (e)(1), are set out in the Appendix to this
title.
AMENDMENTS
2008—Subsecs. (b)(2), (c)(2). Pub. L. 110–403, § 208(1), (2),
inserted ‘‘is a felony and’’ after ‘‘the offense’’ and substituted ‘‘subsection (a)’’ for ‘‘paragraph (1)’’.
Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 110–403, § 208(3), inserted ‘‘is a
felony and’’ after ‘‘the offense’’ and ‘‘under subsection
(a)’’ before the semicolon.
Subsec. (d)(4). Pub. L. 110–403, § 208(4), inserted ‘‘is a
felony and’’ after ‘‘the offense’’.
2005—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(1), substituted
‘‘Any person who’’ for ‘‘Whoever’’ and ‘‘, (c), and (d)’’
for ‘‘and (c) of this section’’.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(2), substituted ‘‘section 506(a)(1)(A)’’ for ‘‘section 506(a)(1)’’ in introductory
provisions.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(3), substituted ‘‘section 506(a)(1)(B) of title 17’’ for ‘‘section 506(a)(2) of title
17, United States Code’’ in introductory provisions.
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(4), (5), added
subsec. (d) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (e).
Former subsec. (e) redesignated (f).
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 109–9, § 103(b)(4), (6), redesignated
subsec. (e) as (f) and added pars. (3) and (4).
2002—Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted ‘‘107
through 122’’ for ‘‘107 through 120’’.
1997—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d)(1), substituted
‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ for ‘‘subsection (b)’’.
Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d)(2)(A), substituted
‘‘section 506(a)(1) of title 17’’ for ‘‘subsection (a) of this
section’’ in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d)(2)(B), inserted
‘‘including by electronic means,’’ after ‘‘if the offense
consists of the reproduction or distribution,’’ and sub-

§ 2319A

stituted ‘‘which have a total retail value of more than
$2,500’’ for ‘‘with a retail value of more than $2,500’’.
Pub. L. 105–80, substituted ‘‘at least 10 copies’’ for ‘‘at
last 10 copies’’.
Subsecs. (c) to (e). Pub. L. 105–147, § 2(d)(3), added subsecs. (c) and (d) and redesignated former subsec. (c) as
(e).
1992—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 102–561, § 1, amended subsec.
(b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as
follows: ‘‘Any person who commits an offense under
subsection (a) of this section—
‘‘(1) shall be fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both, if the offense—
‘‘(A) involves the reproduction or distribution,
during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of
at least one thousand phonorecords or copies infringing the copyright in one or more sound recordings;
‘‘(B) involves the reproduction or distribution,
during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of
at least sixty-five copies infringing the copyright in
one or more motion pictures or other audiovisual
works; or
‘‘(C) is a second or subsequent offense under either of subsection (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section,
where a prior offense involved a sound recording, or
a motion picture or other audiovisual work;
‘‘(2) shall be fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both, if the offense—
‘‘(A) involves the reproduction or distribution,
during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of
more than one hundred but less than one thousand
phonorecords or copies infringing the copyright in
one or more sound recordings; or
‘‘(B) involves the reproduction or distribution,
during any one-hundred-and-eighty-day period, of
more than seven but less than sixty-five copies infringing the copyright in one or more motion pictures or other audiovisual works; and
‘‘(3) shall be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, in any
other case.’’
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 102–561, § 2, substituted ‘‘ ‘phonorecord’ ’’ for ‘‘ ‘sound recording’, ‘motion picture’,
‘audiovisual work’, ‘phonorecord’,’’ in par. (1) and ‘‘120’’
for ‘‘118’’ in par. (2).

§ 2319A. Unauthorized fixation of and trafficking
in sound recordings and music videos of live
musical performances
(a) OFFENSE.—Whoever, without the consent of
the performer or performers involved, knowingly and for purposes of commercial advantage
or private financial gain—
(1) fixes the sounds or sounds and images of
a live musical performance in a copy or phonorecord, or reproduces copies or phonorecords
of such a performance from an unauthorized
fixation;
(2) transmits or otherwise communicates to
the public the sounds or sounds and images of
a live musical performance; or
(3) distributes or offers to distribute, sells or
offers to sell, rents or offers to rent, or traffics
in any copy or phonorecord fixed as described
in paragraph (1), regardless of whether the fixations occurred in the United States;
shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years or
fined in the amount set forth in this title, or
both, or if the offense is a second or subsequent
offense, shall be imprisoned for not more than 10
years or fined in the amount set forth in this
title, or both.
(b) FORFEITURE AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY;
RESTITUTION.—Forfeiture, destruction,