What happens if a copyright is infringed?

In the event someone infringes (violates) the exclusive rights of a copyright owner,
the owner is entitled to file a lawsuit in federal court asking the court to:

• issue orders (restraining orders and injunctions) to prevent further violations
• award money damages if appropriate, and
• in some circumstances, award attorney fees.
Whether the lawsuit will be effective and whether damages will be awarded depends
on whether the alleged infringer can raise one or more legal defenses to the
charge. Common legal defenses to copyright infringement are:
• Too much time has elapsed between the infringing act and the lawsuit (the
statute of limitations defense).
• The infringement is allowed under the fair use defense.
• The infringement was innocent (the infringer had no reason to know the
work was protected by copyright).
• The infringing work was independently created (that is, it wasn’t copied
from the original).
• The copyright owner authorized the use in a license.