THE MEASURE OF RECOVERY IN ACTIONS FOR THE INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT

Authors

Julian Caplan, Member of the Michigan BarFollow

Abstract

Since the present federal copyright statute was enacted in 1909, and especially quite recently, there have been repeated attempts at drastic modification of the law. Certain groups contend that the present statutory provisions are not of sufficient protection to the copyright proprietor, whereas other groups contend that the extent of the protection is entirely unwarranted. One of the chief phases of controversy has involved the measure of recovery in suits for infringement. The issue is of fundamental importance, since the measure of damages determines to a large extent how effective the other provisions of the statute will be. Whether, under the circumstances, the present statute may not be the best possible compromise between the conflicting interests remains to be seen. Nevertheless, recently many bills have been introduced in Congress revising the copyright law and many of them have modified to some extent the remedy provision of the statute. This paper will concern itself with a survey of the former legislation in this country, a discussion of the present copyright law as it affects the measure of recovery, and a critical examination of the proposals for modification of the present statute.

Recommended Citation

Julian Caplan, THE MEASURE OF RECOVERY IN ACTIONS FOR THE INFRINGEMENT OF COPYRIGHT, 37 Mich. L. Rev. 564 (1939).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol37/iss4/4