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That's the part that got me. It's like stealing 1000 iPhones with a retail price of $999 each and then arguing in court that had I legally purchased 1000 iPhones I would have gotten a volume discount from a wholesale distributor and should only be responsible for the wholesale value of what I stole versus the retail value.

Or Joe Random Pirate who always get an exemplary, harsh penalty.

I don't know how common that method of figuring damages is in copyright infringement cases, but it is often done in patent infringement cases regardless of whether the defendant is the government or a commercial entity.