Copyright / IP Law

Higbee & Associates provides a wide range of copyright related services designed to help creative professionals maximize their potential and protect their livelihood. We can help with everything from registration, to licensing, to enforcement— including pre-litigation negotiation and, when need be, litigation. We have handled hundreds of copyright cases and were featured as one of the Top 100 Most Active Copyright Law Firms by Lex Machina and Inc. Magazine’s 5,000 fastest growing companies.

Higbee & Associates represents some of the world’s largest news agencies, such as Agence France-Presse (AFP) and The Associated Press (AP), as well as hundreds of creative agencies, stock image providers and individual photographers.

Our copyright division has been profiled in Lawyer Monthly and Fast Company.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at (714)617-8911 to discuss any of your copyright-related questions or needs. We would be glad to show you why so many creative professionals trust us with their work. We also have an A+ with the Better Business Bureau.

What is copyright and what can be protected?

Copyright is a legal form of exclusive protection for authors of published and unpublished tangible expressions of work. Examples of protected works may include those that are literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, audiovisuals, motion pictures, sound recordings, and architectural. Copyright protection is applicable to original work and compilations and derivative works to the extent that protection is available on the material contributed by the author, and not the preexisting material of the work.

What is copyright infringement?

Copyright infringement is the unlawful use of an authored work without the owner’s permission in the form of a license through various forms of distribution or publication.

What type of cases do you handle?

We handle a wide range of copyright claims, including images, video, text and music. We define commercial websites as ones that do the following: sell or promote goods or services, generate advertising revenue, or solicit donations or contributions. It is usually not our intent to pursue non-commercial claims.

How do I get paid if someone infringes on my copyrighted work?

higbee associates copyright letter settlement You may be entitled to receive up to $30,000 for unintentional infringement (defendant didn’t realize that they were infringing on a copyright) and up to $150,000 for willful infringement (defendant knew that they were infringing on a copyright).

We are able to get a settlement without even going to court in 80% of our copyright infringement cases. This means you will get your money faster. If we do need to fight for your case in court we will also handle that whole process.

No matter what happens with your case, you won’t have to pay us anything out of pocket. It doesn’t cost you anything for us to handle your case. We simply receive compensation through a portion of the settlement.

How are infringement damages assessed under 17 US Code §504(c)?

Authors are given the option to seek either actual damages or statutory damages. Actual damage can be recovered if the author can show that the infringer profited from the illegal use of the authored work. The author is only required to present proof of the infringer’s gross revenue to establish a causal connection between the infringed work and alleged profits. Alternatively, any time before judgment is rendered, the author may elect to seek statutory damages. If the infringement is unintentional, the court has the discretion to award anywhere between $750.00 to $30,000. If the author successfully proves that the infringement was committed willfully, the court has the discretion to award the author up to $150,000. Not all claims are eligible for statutory damages under 504(c).