Statutory Damages

Statutory damages are damage ranges or limits defined by the Trademark Act of 1946 that a trademark owner may recover in a trademark infringement case involving use of a counterfeit mark. A trademark owner may pursue statutory damages in lieu of pursuing recovery of actual damages.

The Trademark Act of 1946 defines statutory damages as one of the following. The court may award statutory damages ranging between $1,000 and $200,000 per counterfeit mark used by the defendant for the sale or distribution of goods or services. Alternatively, the court may award statutory damages of up to $2,000,000 when the court finds that use of the counterfeit mark in the sale or distribution of goods or services was intentional on the part of the defendant.

The decision to pursue statutory damages rather than actual damages is an election that the trademark owner can make. The court must determine based on a given infringement case if statutory damages are reasonable and just.