Is it possible to collect damages for free content?
<p>Some content, especially online, is freely available, such as many pictures, Creative Commons content, and video game modifications. If the creator never makes any money from selling said content, is it still possible for him to collect statutory damages upon copyright infringement? It would seem that actual damages would be $0, and so not possible to collect.</p>

<p>First, a clarification: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statutory_damages">statutory damages</a> are damages that are prescribed by the statute rather than being based on actual loss.</p>

<p>In both Canada and the U.S. even if the copyright owner was not attempting to profit from the work (thus realizing no <em>actual</em> damages), they could recover any of the <em>infringer</em>'s profits that are attributable to the infringement. (<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/504">17 U.S.C. §504</a>, <a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-42/FullText.html"><em>Copyright Act</em> s. 35</a>)</p>

<p>In both Canada and the U.S., the copyright owner can elect to recover statutory damages (described below) instead of actual damages and profits. Even if there <em>are</em> actual damages and profits that the plaintiff could recover, the extra effort and cost associated with proving those may cause a plaintiff decide to recover statutory damages instead.</p>

<p>In the U.S., statutory damages can be sought if the infringed work was registered at the time of the infringement (roughly). (<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/412">17 U.S.C. §412</a>)</p>

<p>Statutory damages range from $750 to $30000 per work. (<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/504">17 U.S.C. §504</a>)</p>

<p>In Canada, <a href="https://www.gowlings.com/KnowledgeCentre/article.asp?pubID=2231">registration is not required</a> in order to be eligible for statutory damages.</p>

<p>Statutory damages in Canada range from $500 to $20000 for all infringements in the proceedings if the infringement is commercial infringement, and from $500 to $5000 for all infringements in the proceedings otherwise. (<a href="http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-42/FullText.html"><em>Copyright Act</em> s. 38.1</a>)</p>

copyright intellectual-property damages