United States Code/Title 17/Chapter 12/Sections 1204 and 1205
§ 1204—Criminal offenses and penalties
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any person who violates section 1201 or 1202 willfully and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain—
- (1) shall be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, for the first offense; and
- (2) shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both, for any subsequent offense.
(b) LIMITATION FOR NONPROFIT LIBRARY, ARCHIVES, EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION, OR PUBLIC BROADCASTING ENTITY.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to a nonprofit library, archives, educational institution, or public broadcasting entity (as defined under section 118(f)).
(c) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—No criminal proceeding shall be brought under this section unless such proceeding is commenced within five years after the cause of action arose.
§ 1205—Savings clause
Nothing in this chapter abrogates, diminishes, or weakens the provisions of, nor provides any defense or element of mitigation in a criminal prosecution or civil action under, any Federal or State law that prevents the violation of the privacy of an individual in connection with the individual's use of the Internet.
Amendment history
[edit]Sections 1204 and 1205 were added by sec. 103(a) of the WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-304, Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 2860), with effect from October 28, 1998.
Pub. L. 106-113, 113 Stat. 1501, app. I
- Substituted new text for subsection 1204(b).
Pub. L. 111-295, 124 Stat. 3181, substituted "118(f)" for "118(g)" in subsection 1204(b).