Actual damages and the infringer's profits
A copyright owner can recover its actual losses, often the license fee it would have charged or sales it lost, plus the infringer's profits attributable to the infringement that are not already counted in those losses. For profits, the owner generally has to show the infringer's gross revenue reasonably related to the infringement, and the infringer then has to prove its deductible expenses and the share of profit owed to other factors. That split in the burden of proof is often where the real argument happens. Your own licensing history, meaning what you have charged others for similar uses, is frequently the most persuasive proof of actual loss.
Statutory damages as an alternative
An owner whose work was registered in time can elect statutory damages instead of actual damages and profits. The election replaces the other measure rather than adding to it, and it is often made once the evidence on actual harm is clearer. Attorney's fees are a separate question that also depends on registration timing. When a work was not registered in time, a court award is generally limited to actual damages and profits, although the Copyright Claims Board can still award statutory damages for such a work at a lower cap.
Building the damages case
Gather your licensing records, rate cards, invoices, and any correspondence about requests to use the work. Records of where the infringing use appeared, for how long, and what it may have earned are useful, although much of that information will come from the other side in discovery. We look at which measure fits your evidence and what proving it would cost, and that often shapes whether the claim belongs in federal court, before the Copyright Claims Board, or in a negotiated license.
