UCLA Entertainment Law Review

Copyright law and the Internet are at an impasse. The looming

question is how to approach unlicensed distribution of copyrighted

works in the age of peer-to-peer networks. To supplement profits from

copyrighted works, copyright holders have devised a mass-litigation

model to monetize, rather than deter, infringement. Because of the

existence of statutory damages, plaintiffs utilize the threat of outlandish

damage awards to force alleged infringers into quick settlements.

Statutory damages incentivize litigation-based businesses and

encourage copyright holders to waste judicial resources by litigating

even when actual damages are nominal. This Article presents an

analysis of the legal and policy issues that arise in a mass-litigation

model primarily through filings in federal district courts. After a

discussion of the original purposes of U.S. copyright law, this Article

concludes that statutory damages should be removed from the 1976

Copyright Act.