U.S. copyright law[]
Under U.S. copyright law, to succeed on a claim for direct copyright infringement, a plaintiff must prove two elements:
- (1) ownership of the copyrighted material, and
- (2) violating of one of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner by the defendant.[1]
Liability for copyright infringement is strict liability — it does not require intent or any particular state of mind, although willfulness is relevant to the award of statutory damages.[2]