The first criminal provision in U.S. copyright law was added in 1897, which established a misdemeanor penalty for "unlawful performances and representations of copyrighted dramatic and musical compositions" if the violation had been "willful and for profit." Criminal copyright infringement requires that the infringer acted "for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain." 17 U.S.C. § 506. To establish criminal liability, the prosecutor must first show the basic elements of copyright infringement: ownership of a valid copyright, and the violation of one or more of the copyright holder's exclusive rights. The government must then establish that defendant willfully infringed or, in other words, possessed the necessary mens rea. Misdemeanor infringement has a very low threshold in terms of number of copies and the value of the infringed works. COUNT 5
QSN1 When was the first criminal part of copyright law in the U.S. added? ANS1 1897 QSN2 What type of penalty was made for unlawful performances that are willful and for profit? ANS2 misdemeanor QSN3 What did a criminal infringer do to be prosecuted? ANS3 for the purpose of commercial advantage or private financial gain QSN4 What must a prosecuter show after the basic elements of infringement? ANS4 that defendant willfully infringed QSN5 What is the threshold of the number of copies and the value of the works? ANS5 very low threshold