Consent Order and Permanent Injunction
(Copyright Litigation)

Summary

This template is a stipulated consent order and permanent injunction ("Order") in a copyright litigation that enjoins a defendant from infringing activity. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate clauses. This Order assumes a defendant infringed the copyright rights of a Plaintiff's protected work ("Plaintiff's Work"). It is assumed that there is only one infringing work ("Defendant's Work"). This form can be adapted for cases involving multiple infringed or infringing works and multiple parties. The medium of Plaintiff's Work (e.g., printed material, motion picture, sculpture, phonograph recording, software app) will determine many of the variables contained in this form. The restraints portion of this Order includes language that can be used to restrain the defendant from: • Reproducing Plaintiff's Work • Making derivative works based on Plaintiff's Work • Distributing copies of Plaintiff's Work • Performing Plaintiff's Work • Displaying Plaintiff's Work • Publicly performing Plaintiff's Work (if it is a sound recording) by digital transmission The restraint will depend on (a) the nature and medium of Plaintiff's Work, and (b) the actions of the defendant constituting infringement. Copyright litigation parties often agree to consent orders when settling. A consent order that incorporates a permanent injunction is desirable for plaintiffs since it brings judicial authority to preemptively bear on any future infringement by defendants. Parties normally use both a consent order and formal settlement agreement to resolve copyright litigation. For more information on copyright claims and infringement, see Copyright Fundamentals, Pre-suit Considerations in Copyright Litigation, and Copyright Enforcement Resource Kit. For sample copyright settlement agreements, see Copyright Settlement Agreement (Pro-Copyright Holder) and Copyright Settlement Agreement (Pro-Accused Infringer). For further consideration of copyright remedies, see Copyright Litigation: Remedies. For more on settlement in copyright cases, see Nimmer on Copyright § 40.01 (2021).