Does operating under a corporation offer any legal immunity for me/my assets when being prosecuted for copyright infringement?

Without more facts about your statements, I advise you to seek local intellectual property counsel as there may State as well as Federal law involved in the violations your being threatened with as this may be a very serious matter.

In the probably unlikely event that a lawsuit is filed it will almost certainly name both you and the corporation as defendants. You would likely try to get personally out of the case by asserting protection of the "corporate veil" which is in place to protect you personally in such cases. Whether or not this works will depend upon a lot of things related to both your personal actions in the allegedly infringing act and your history of keeping corporate events and assets separate from the personal. In these cases, the claimants will often allege that the corporation is an alter ego for the individual and not truly operated as a corporation or that assets were not properly kept separate, either that the business was paying personal bills or that personal and corporate funds were comingled. You have done what you can for the present. In the event that a lawsuit is filed you will need to retain counsel and listed to the advice given.

REgarding your personal assets, it will depend upon whether they can pierce the corporate veil -- however before it would get to that point, your corp would have to have a judgment against it. I suggest that you review your insurance policy on your business to see if you have advertising injury coverage. If so, you may be covered for such a suit. Find yourself an attorney -- the optimal place would be where the lawsuit might be filed as otherwise, you may have to have your counsel AND a local counsel. Many firms offer free initial consultations, I suggest you use one. Good luck!

The short answer is, yes, you can be held personally liable for the acts of the corporation you control -- and it's NOT necessary for the rights holder to "pierce the corporate veil." The rule is stated differently by different courts but in all cases a corporate "officer or director is, in general, personally liable for all torts which he authorizes or directs or in which he participates, notwithstanding that he acted as an agent of the corporation and not on his own behalf." In such a situation the officer and the corporation are both liable [again, w/o piercing the corporate veil]. It is also no excuse that it was difficult to discern that the infringing product was not genuine. Both copyright and trademark infringement are "strict liability" wrongs -- that is, even if you don't know what you're doing is unlawful you are, nonetheless, liable. Speak with your own New York-licensed intellectual property attorney in private.

For some background on this industry (prosecution of trademark counterfeiting) read the thriller "The Counterfeit Detective" by Paul R. Paradise.

Trademark and Copyright Infringement are personal torts. Accordingly, if you are the decision maker behind the corporation in purchasing and selling the infringing goods, you can be sued personally and held liable. This is separate and apart from a judgment against the corporation and perhaps piercing the corporate veil. I suggest that you immediately retain an experienced Copyright and Trademark litigation attorney to advise you in confidence and respond to the letter. An experienced attorney will be your best chance of negotiating and amicably settling this dispute before it gets to court. I recommend that you start by contacting an experienced Copyright and Trademark/ IP litigation attorney to advise you in confidence about your options and potential costs. Many IP firms, like ours, offer an initial free conference by telephone, video conference or in person if you are available locally and would be happy to speak with you. Call and speak with an experienced Copyright and Trademark/ IP litigation attorney who can assist you.

First, the odds that a mark holder is going to open a federal action in court over the sale of one infringing item is so slim you probably have a better chance of hitting the lottery (we have no crystal ball of course). That said, IP infringement and here it sounds more like trademark infringement, is a personal tort action and in most cases a legal entity as well as the operators will be sued personally. If that were not possible, then any entity can make a business model of infringement then when caught just let the worthless entity take the hit, set up a new one and start all over again. In all likelihood, this is probably not the problem you think it is, but I would get some proper advice before doing anything further. I suggest that you consult with a lawyer in private and discuss your objectives in more detail. You can start by calling around to several for a free phone consultation, get some insights then pick the best fit to work with and know you are free to work with counsel located anywhere as you have many options available not just those that provide services in your home state. Best regards, Frank Natoli-Lapin, LLC

Yes you can be held personally responsible both for civil damages and any criminal law consequences. However, as a practical matter, in most cases such as this, there is very little risk of criminal prosecution--unless you were a major player in selling counterfeit goods, chances are that law enforcement will leave you alone. Further, if you were acting as an employee or officer of a a corporation pursuant its business objectives, the corporation may be obligated to indemnify you in case you face personal liability for your role in carrying out the company's business. (Of course, this may not help you if the company has no assets separate from your own). Further, it is relatively unusual for civil claims to be brought against individual infringers in cases like this, where the products were sold through a company. However, each situation is different and during the past year, I personally defended several cases brought against individuals and the companies they operate. If you were threatened with suit, it is very important that you retain experience legal counsel to attempt to resolve this matter BEFORE a law suit is brought. Once you are sued, it gets much more difficult, time-consuming and expensive to settle the case. You should not use this web-site as a substitute for retaining legal counsel----as your question suggests, this situation has both criminal and civil law implications, and it is critically important that you review the facts and circumstances with experienced legal counsel. You investment in legal counsel now will help mitigate the damages that you may face as a result of this inadvertent sale of inauthentic materials.