Title 17 — CopyrightsRelease 119-73not60
§511 Liability of States, Instrumentalities of States, and State Officials for Infringement of Copyright
Title 17 › Chapter 5— COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND REMEDIES › § 511
Summary
States, state agencies, and state officials acting in their official roles cannot use the Eleventh Amendment or other sovereign immunity rules to avoid Federal court lawsuits for copyright violations. Any person or organization may sue for violations of the exclusive rights in sections 106 through 122, for importing phonorecords in violation of section 602, or other offenses, and the same remedies apply as against private parties, including those in sections 503, 504, 505, and 510.
Full Legal Text
Title 17, §511
Copyrights — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Any State, any instrumentality of a State, and any officer or employee of a State or instrumentality of a State acting in his or her official capacity, shall not be immune, under the Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of the United States or under any other doctrine of sovereign immunity, from suit in Federal court by any person, including any governmental or nongovernmental entity, for a violation of any of the exclusive rights of a copyright owner provided by sections 106 through 122, for importing copies of phonorecords in violation of section 602, or for any other violation under this title.
(b)In a suit described in subsection (a) for a violation described in that subsection, remedies (including remedies both at law and in equity) are available for the violation to the same extent as such remedies are available for such a violation in a suit against any public or private entity other than a State, instrumentality of a State, or officer or employee of a State acting in his or her official capacity. Such remedies include impounding and disposition of infringing articles under section 503, actual damages and profits and statutory damages under section 504, costs and attorney’s fees under section 505, and the remedies provided in section 510.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
ConstitutionalityFor information regarding the constitutionality of certain provisions of subsection (a) of this section, see the Table of Laws Held Unconstitutional in Whole or in Part by the Supreme Court on the Constitution Annotated website, constitution.congress.gov.
Amendments
2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–273 substituted “122” for “121”. 1999—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–44 substituted “121” for “119”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective with respect to violations that occur on or after Nov. 15, 1990, see section 3 of Pub. L. 101–553, set out as an
Effective Date
of 1990 Amendment note under section 501 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
17 U.S.C. § 511
Title 17 — Copyrights
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60