Copyrights - 17 USC Section 503

01/19/04

Sec. 503. Remedies for infringement: Impounding and disposition of
infringing articles

(a) At any time while an action under this title is pending, the
court may order the impounding, on such terms as it may deem
reasonable, of all copies or phonorecords claimed to have been made
or used in violation of the copyright owner's exclusive rights, and
of all plates, molds, matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or
other articles by means of which such copies or phonorecords may be
reproduced.
(b) As part of a final judgment or decree, the court may order
the destruction or other reasonable disposition of all copies or
phonorecords found to have been made or used in violation of the
copyright owner's exclusive rights, and of all plates, molds,
matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by
means of which such copies or phonorecords may be reproduced.

HISTORICAL AND REVISION NOTES
HOUSE REPORT NO. 94-1476
The two subsections of section 503 deal respectively with the
courts' power to impound allegedly infringing articles during the
time an action is pending, and to order the destruction or other
disposition of articles found to be infringing. In both cases the
articles affected include "all copies or phonorecords" which are
claimed or found "to have been made or used in violation of the
copyright owner's exclusive rights," and also "all plates, molds,
matrices, masters, tapes, film negatives, or other articles by
means of which such copies of phonorecords may be reproduced." The
alternative phrase "made or used" in both subsections enables a
court to deal as it sees fit with articles which, though reproduced
and acquired lawfully, have been used for infringing purposes such
as rentals, performances, and displays.
Articles may be impounded under subsection (a) "at any time while
an action under this title is pending," thus permitting seizures of
articles alleged to be infringing as soon as suit has been filed
and without waiting for an injunction. The same subsection empowers
the court to order impounding "on such terms as it may deem
reasonable." The present Supreme Court rules with respect to
seizure and impounding were issued even though there is no specific
provision authorizing them in the copyright statute, and there
appears no need for including a special provision on the point in
the bill.
Under section 101(d) of the present statute [section 101(d) of
former title 17], articles found to be infringing may be ordered to
be delivered up for destruction. Section 503(b) of the bill would
make this provision more flexible by giving the court discretion to
order "destruction or other reasonable disposition" of the articles
found to be infringing. Thus, as part of its final judgment or
decree, the court could order the infringing articles sold,
delivered to the plaintiff, or disposed of in some other way that
would avoid needless waste and best serve the ends of justice.

Last modified: April 19, 2006