The situation presented in this case is not one of mere copying of the codes for personal use, or of Veeck's asking SBCCI for permission to post the codes on the web and having permission denied. As Veeck copied SBCCI's model code verbatim, the fair-use calculus weighs heavily against him. Veeck's total copying and promulgation of SBCCI's model code, and the potentially harmful effect of such copying on the market, render his use unfair.
C. SBCCI's Infringement Counterclaim
SBCCI holds valid copyrights in its codes, and Veeck has expressly admitted copying them. In the absence of a viable defense, the district court was correct in holding that SBCCI established copyright infringement. Under these circumstances, I am satisfied that the district court's conclusions and its award of an injunction and the minimum statutory damages on each of the five counts of copyright infringement are free of error.[1] Likewise, I find no abuse of discretion in the district court's award of attorneys' fees.[2]
- ↑ At the pertinent time, 17 U.S.C.A.? 504(c)(1) set the range of statutory damages for each act of copyright infringement at no less than $500 or more than $20,000. A 1999 amendment has raised those amounts to $750 and $30,000, respectively. Id.; Digital Theft Deterrence and Copyright Damages Improvement Act of 1999, Pub. L. No. 106-160,? 2(1), 113 Stat. 1774 (1999).
- ↑ Hogan Systems, Inc. v. Cybresource Int'l, Inc., 158 F.3d 319, 325 (5th Cir. 1998) (applying abuse of discretion standard of review to award of attorneys' fees in copyright case). Veeck did not brief the questions of the district court's grant of a permanent injunction or award of damages and attorneys' fees, and therefore waived them.
75
