(a) Any court of competent jurisdiction may grant relief that it finds necessary to enforce this chapter, including the issuance of an injunction. Any person injured by a violation of this chapter, in addition to actual damages, may recover court costs, attorney’s fees, and a civil penalty from any person who is not a student enrolled in the institution at which the instructor of record makes his or her academic presentation and who seeks to obtain financial or economic gain through the unauthorized dissemination of the academic presentation. The amount of the civil penalty shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the first offense, five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the second offense, and for any subsequent offense, a penalty of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000).
(b) Actions for any relief pursuant to this chapter may be prosecuted in a court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or any district attorney or by any county counsel authorized by agreement with the district attorney in actions involving violation of a county ordinance, or any city attorney of a city, or city and county, having a population in excess of 750,000, and, with the consent of the district attorney, by a city prosecutor in any city having a full-time city prosecutor or, with the consent of the district attorney, by a city attorney in any city, or city and county, in the name of the people of the State of California upon their own complaint or upon the complaint of any board, officer, person, corporation, or association or by any person acting for the interests of itself, its members, or the general public.
(c) It does not constitute a violation of this chapter for a business, agency, or person solely to provide access or connection to or from a facility, system, or network over which that business, agency, or person has no control, including related capabilities that are incidental to providing access or connection. This subdivision does not apply to a business or agency that is owned by, or to a business, agency, or person that is controlled by, or a conspirator with, a business, agency, or person actively involved in the creation, editing, or knowing distribution of a contemporaneous recording that violates this chapter.
(Added by Stats. 2000, Ch. 574, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2001.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018