Attorney Steve® - Copyright Infringement Essentials - Funding a lawsuit.  Need to discuss litigation, call us at (877) 276-5084.

Introduction

Copyright cases are brought in federal court where there is exclusive jurisdiction.  They are not cheap.  Our typical retainer for IP litigation is 5-25k (depending upon the complexity of the case), and currently we bill our time hourly at $595 per hour.  Litigation can be expensive because in general you have the following steps depending upon how far the case proceeds:

1.  File a lawsuit (federal court costs $400)

2.  Serve the Defendant(s) ($100 or more)

3.  Answer filed affirmative defenses / Counterclaims (another couple of thousand)

4.  Demurrers / Motion to dismiss (if you have grounds to file a rule 12(b) motion to dismiss)

5. Required meetings of counsel / joint reports

6.  Protective orders (watch my video)

7.  Initial disclosures

8.  Discovery / subpoenas / depositions / request for documents / interrogatories / admissions (this is where things start to get really expensive)

9.  Motions to compel discovery

10. Motion for summary judgment

11.  Orders to mediate (watch my mediation tips here)

12.  Settlement conferences

13. Trial (which can last days and be very expensive).  Learn the difference between a bench trial and jury trial (bench trial would be less expensive)

These are the basic steps you see in litigation.  State court cases can be similar.

14.  Don't forget, even though a trail verdict is reached, there can be an extensive appeals process (costing more time and money, and which could actually send the case back to the trial court for more proceedings).  All this needs to be considered.

NOTE: In some cases, a copyright infringement lawsuit can be taken on a contingency fee basis (for plaintiffs), but for us, we need clear evidence of infringement and a registered copyright and strong evidence of willful infringement.  Also, the bigger the company that is on the other side of the "vs" may require a hybrid fee due to the potential that a case could last for years in the federal court system.  

Defendants often have a harder time finding contingency representation, but the "prevailing party" in copyright litigation is entitled to seek their attorney fees from the court, (which is discretionary and based on a variety of factors).

So in general, copyright lawsuits can last months to years and can cost anywhere from $5,000 (if a quick settlement can be reached) or on up to $350,000 or more for lengthy litigation.

Contact a California copyright infringement law firm

We have litigated hundreds of federal court litigation cases, including:

1. Strike 3 Holdings defense (p2p file-sharing)
2. Joe Hand Promotions (boxing piracy cases)
3. Copyright photo infringement
4. Jewelry infringement
5. YouTube DMCA claims
6. Software disputes and litigation (companies like Siemens, Ansys, Autodesk, Business Software Association, Vero, Solidworks, Microsoft and others)
7. IPTV defense (MPAA, ACE Alliance, Dish-Nagrastar)

We can review your case by calling us at (877) 276-5084.  You may also email us through our contact form.