Man Escapes Guilty Verdict after Involvement in Major Copyright Infringement Scheme
In the summer of 2003, owner of Super DVD, Julius Liu, was convicted of copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit labels. Liu’s company was involved in commercially replicating DVDs and CDs for various clients on a very large scale. While Liu was replicating these works, he was under the impression that all of his clients had permission from the copyright holders to make copies. Some of the materials that Liu’s convictions were based on were “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and Norton Antivirus software.
During an interview and at his trial, Liu admitted his involvement in reproducing copyrighted material. He also stated that he was unaware that some of his clients did not have permission to reproduce the works. Despite his lack of knowledge that he was reproducing the material without permission, Liu was convicted of all the charges against him. His convictions were based on the fact that he knew he was reproducing copyrighted material and that he knew he was selling them to make a profit.
On appeal, Liu’s convictions were overturned because the Court of Appeals held that reasoning for Liu’s convictions was flawed. In particular, the Court of Appeals stated that wrong standards were applied to Liu’s case. The evidence the government presented was determined to be insufficient to convict Liu based on the new standards.
Prerequisites to Criminal Liability for Copyright Infringement
The court will determine whether copyright infringement is criminal or noncriminal by looking at two factors. The first is whether the violation was for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain. “Commercial advantage” is a term that is usually associated with business decisions that give a business an unfair edge over their competition in the financial market. “Financial gain” has been defined very broadly to include “receipt, or expectation of receipt, of anything of value, including the receipt of other copyrighted works.” This factor is typically satisfied easily.
The second factor, which is much more problematic, is whether the prosecution can establish that you willfully infringed on a copyright. To be convicted, you must act with the intent to copy copyrighted material and know that you did not have permission to do so. Therefore, reproduction or distribution of copyrighted material by itself is not enough to uphold your conviction. Keep in mind that the burden of proof is for criminal copyright infringement. Under noncriminal copyright infringement, you can be liable just for intending to copy the material.
If you are being charged with copyright infringement and are unsure of the severity of the charges, contact the criminal defense lawyers at Wallin & Klarich. Our legal knowledge and skill may be the difference between you winning and losing your case.
How Can I be Convicted of Trafficking in Counterfeit Labels?
Trafficking in counterfeit labels includes selling bootleg DVDs, CDs or computer programs. Take not that this is not a complete list.
To be convicted of this offense, courts look at whether you had knowledge that the labels you were trafficking were counterfeit. Evidence that you were trafficking counterfeit products is not sufficient by itself to uphold a conviction for this offense. Recognizing the difference is important, especially when you are dealing with third parties, like in Liu’s case. A third party’s knowledge that products were counterfeit cannot be a basis for convicting you with this offense unless you were also aware that the products were counterfeit.
Call the Criminal Defense Lawyers at Wallin & Klarich
If you find yourself in a similar situation and are being charged with copyright infringement, do not hesitate to contact the experienced criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich.
The skilled criminal defense lawyers at Wallin & Klarich have over 40 years of experience in criminal defense and have the knowledge necessary to achieve the best possible outcome in your case. Call us today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (877) 466-5245. We will get through this together.