GENERAL INFORMATION Title of Dataset: Dataset of Statutory Damages Awards in U.S. Copyright Cases (2009–2020) Recommended citation for this dataset: Brady, B., Germano, R., & Sprigman, C. (2025). Dataset of Statutory Damages Awards in U.S. Copyright Cases (2009–2020) [Data set]. New York University. https://doi.org/10.58153/jyn8d-n9f12 Authors: Name: Benjamin Brady Institution: Assistant Professor of Law, University of Arkansas School of Law Name: Roy Germano ORCID: 0009-0007-8459-8538 Institution: New York University School of Law Name: Christopher Sprigman Institution: New York University School of Law Geographic location of data collection: U.S. *** DATA & FILE OVERVIEW This dataset offers detailed information on statutory damages awards in U.S. copyright cases. It was originally developed for research published in the Michigan State Law Review by Ben Brady, Roy Germano, and Christopher Sprigman. The dataset contains information on 277 statutory damages awards made in 240 copyright cases between 2009 and 2020. The dataset has 13 columns and 277 rows. Each row represents an award. Some cases are repeated as there were multiple awards in the case. METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION Description of methods used for collection/generation/processing of data: The dataset was constructed through an independent review and refinement process using legal docket data collected from the Lex Machina legal analytics database. The study investigated awards of statutory damages in copyright cases from January 1, 2009, to May 31, 2020. After using the database to identify all copyright cases involving awards of statutory damages during this period, the researchers manually reviewed docket entries to gather details such as: * The type and number of infringed works * Amount sought by plaintiffs (where available) * Amount awarded per work infringed * Whether damages were decided by judge or jury * Whether infringement was deemed willful, nonwillful, or innocent * Lost licensing fee evidence (where presented) * Express rationale provided by the court for the award (in judge-decided cases) * Any damages requests made by plaintiffs The dataset includes 277 statutory damages awards made under § 504 of the Copyright Act in 240 cases across 66 U.S. district courts. Awards were classified into categories by type of work infringed, including: artwork and illustrations; fashion designs; movies; music; other designs; photographs and images; printed materials; public performance of songs; software and video games; and television rights.The data was analyzed at the award level rather than the case level, as multiple awards were sometimes made in the same case (either due to multiple parties or different works being infringed in different ways). Default judgments (2,701 cases during this period) were excluded from the dataset on the assumption that the effort and expense required to obtain damages on default judgment made these cases less comparable to cases decided by a judge or jury on the merits. Plaintiffs did not always make a request for a specific award or present lost licensing fee evidence, which is why some entries are indicated with "NaN" People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission: Benjamin Brady, Roy Germano & Christopher Jon Sprigman *** DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR statutory_damages_data_Brady_Germano_Sprigman_MSLR_2022.csv Number of variables: 13 Number of cases/rows: 277 Variable List: year = the year the case was decided by the district court [values: years] court = name of the district court [values: U.S. federal court abbreviations] case = case name and docket number type = type of works at issue in the case [values: Artwork and Illustrations; Fashion Design; Movies; Music; Other Designs; Photos/Images; Printed Materials; Public Performances of Songs; Software and Video Games; TV Rights] judgment_source = whether case was decided by a jury at trial or by judge on summary judgment or bench trial [values: Judge; Jury] culpability = whether there was a finding of willful or innocent infringement that allowed for enhanced or reduced damages [values: Willful; Nonwillful; Innocent] total_amt = the total amount awarded by the court to the plaintiff [values: number in USD] no_infringed = the number of copyrighted words infringed amt_per_work = the amount the court awarded to the plaintiff per work infringed, calculated by dividing “total_amt" by “no_infringed” [values: number in USD] amt_sought = the amount of money sought by the plaintiff. This value is missing for any observation in which the plaintiff did not make an award request. [values: number in USD] lost_licensing_fee = the amount of any lost licensing fees presented to the court [values: number in USD] amt_sought_per_work = calculated by dividing amt_sought by no_infringed [values: number in USD] lost_fee_per_work = calculated by dividing lost_licensing_fee by no_infringed [values: number in USD] Missing data codes: NaN *** SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Links to publications that cite or use the data: Benjamin Brady, Roy Germano & Christopher Jon Sprigman, Statutory Damages under the Copyright Act: An Empirical Study, 2022 MICH. ST. L. REV. 1179 (2022). https://perma.cc/5ZJW-WY68