Copyright infringement occurs when a protected work has been copied without authorization. Keep in mind that the copied work need not be identical to the original to infringe a copyright! The legal test of infringement is "substantial similarity" - whether an ordinary observer would recognize the work as having been copied in whole or in part from the earlier one.

However, in order to take legal action against an act of infringement your copyright must be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. If you don't register your copyright and someone else claims the work as their own, you will have to somehow prove that it is actually yours. Registration avoids this burden of proof.

If proven that a copyright infringement has occurred, the owner of a registered copyright may be entitled to relief such as injunction, impounding and disposition of infringing articles, attorney's fees, actual damages and profits of the infringing party, or statutory damages up to $150,000 if the infringement was committed willfully. 

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