17 U.S.C. § 502
Section 502 · Remedies for infringement: Injunctions
This is § 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 432 court decisions — leading case eBay Inc. v. MERCEXCHANGE, LL (2006)
Most recently applied in Romanova v. Amilus Inc. (May 2025)
Applied most in the Ninth Circuit Circuit (32 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 17 U.S.C. § 504 · 17 U.S.C. § 101 · 17 U.S.C. § 505
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Any court having jurisdiction of a civil action arising under this title may, subject to the provisions of section 1498 of title 28, grant temporary and final injunctions on such terms as it may deem reasonable to prevent or restrain infringement of a copyright.
(b) Any such injunction may be served anywhere in the United States on the person enjoined; it shall be operative throughout the United States and shall be enforceable, by proceedings in contempt or otherwise, by any United States court having jurisdiction of that person. The clerk of the court granting the injunction shall, when requested by any other court in which enforcement of the injunction is sought, transmit promptly to the other court a certified copy of all the papers in the case on file in such clerk's office.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Historical and Revision Notes
Section 502(a) [subsec. (a) of this section] reasserts the discretionary power of courts to grant injunctions and restraining orders, whether “preliminary,” “temporary,” “interlocutory,” “permanent,” or “final,” to prevent or stop infringements of copyright. This power is made subject to the provisions of section 1498 of title 28 dealing with infringement actions against the United States. The latter reference in section 502(a) makes it clear that the bill would not permit the granting of an injunction against an infringement for which the Federal Government is liable under section 1498.
Under subsection (b), which is the counterpart of provisions in sections 112 and 113 of the present statute [sections 112 and 113 of former title 17], a copyright owner who has obtained an injunction in one State will be able to enforce it against a defendant located anywhere else in the United States.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
Injunctions, generally, see rule 65, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Security—
Upon granting injunction pending appeal, see rule 62.
Upon granting preliminary injunction, see rule 65.
Territorial extent of effective service of process, see rule 4.
Federal Forms of Civil Procedure
Form of complaint for injunction and damages, see form 17, Title 28, Appendix, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.
Cross References
Acts of infringement—
Making and distributing phonorecords, see section 115 of this title.
Secondary transmission of primary transmission, see section 111 of this title.
Power of court to punish for contempt for disobedience to decrees or orders, see section 401 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.
Works consisting of sounds, image, or both, the first fixation of which is made simultaneously with its transmission, as subject to this section, although not yet registered, see section 411 of this title.