infringement

noun

in·​fringe·​ment in-ˈfrinj-mənt How to pronounce infringement (audio)
1
: the act of infringing : violation
2
: an encroachment or trespass on a right or privilege

Examples of infringement in a Sentence

any government action limiting freedom of speech is an infringement of the U.S. Constitution
Recent Examples on the Web For repeat infringements of the law, the EU can levy a 20 percent fine. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024 In that case, which went all the way to the Supreme Court, judges ruled the VCR manufacturers were not liable for contributory copyright infringement since the VCR had other legitimate uses besides violating copyright. Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 5 Mar. 2024 OpenAI similarly whittled down complaints in a lawsuit from Sarah Silverman and other authors to a single direct copyright infringement claim. Wes Davis, The Verge, 27 Feb. 2024 Besides the Times, authors, including Sarah Silverman, have similarly sued the company for copyright infringement. David Bauder, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2024 Per the filing, the estate seeks $150,000 for each act of infringement. Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024 This also sets off a copyright infringement question, which now puts the creator and the person/company that pitched them to possibly never having any other titles accepted. Susan Johnston, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2024 The labels said Cox had ignored hundreds of thousands of infringement notices and had never permanently terminated a single subscriber accused of stealing music. Bill Donahue, Billboard, 20 Feb. 2024 Notably, OpenAI didn’t move to dismiss a claim for direct copyright infringement. Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'infringement.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1628, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of infringement was in 1628

Dictionary Entries Near infringement

Cite this Entry

“Infringement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infringement. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

infringement

noun
in·​fringe·​ment
: the act or an instance of infringing
especially : the unauthorized use of copyrighted or patented material or of a trademark, trade name, or trade dress see also equivalent, fair use

Note: Infringement of a trademark, trade name, or trade dress involves use of one by the infringer that is the same as that of the owner or so similar that it is likely to deceive or to cause confusion or mistake on the part of the average purchaser. Infringement of a copyright involves the copying of a material and substantial portion of the protected work. If the alleged infringer denies copying, the copyright holder may be able to prove infringement with circumstantial evidence of the infringer's access to the protected work and of similarities between the two works.

More from Merriam-Webster on infringement

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