May 21, 2007
Statutory Damages for Speech Harms from Copyright Enforcers?

David Weinberger proposes that we balance the scales against wrongful DMCA takedowns by adding statutory damages for speech harms. If the law presumes that a copyright holder is harmed up to $150,000 per work infringed, without making it prove actual damage, we should adopt the same approach, and figures, to the measurement problems for lost speech.

We faced the speech-damages question in OPG v. Diebold, which we ultimately settled for $125,000 in damages and attorneys' fees. $5,000 of that was our claim for OPG's hosting disruption; the Swarthmore students who had to pull essential materials from their symposium website couldn't put a dollar figure on that.

Presumed damages could solve that problem and make it easier for those harmed by bad copyright claims to find and pay counsel. As Weinberger says, "Protecting free speech ought to be at least as important as protecting the rights of copyright holders."

Posted by Wendy at May 21, 2007 03:59 PM | TrackBack
Comments
Track-Backs
Post a comment
Name:


Email Address:


URL:


Comments:


Remember info?