Copyright Small-Claims Court
Welcome to Face The Book TV, Season 2, Episode 20!
Video recorded May 13, 2020 on our YouTube channel
GUEST: Christopher Kenneally, Dir. of Marketing, Copyright Clearance Center
HOST: Charlotte Pierce, Pierce Press & Independent Publishers of New England
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT: Sheryl Davis, author, The Mystical Magical Abracadabracal Daniel McDougal McDouglas McFly
Most independent publishers register a copyright and in any case, all creative works are copyrighted once created, without any registration at all. Easy, peasy, right?
That's all fine until you are actually the victim of copyright infringement; then good luck finding the resources to bring a federal lawsuit. While the Copyright Act also offers the possibility of obtaining statutory damages and attorneys’ fees, these benefits are not always available and may not be recovered until after a long court battle that can entail significant up-front costs.
In a significant new development in this field, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (the CASE Act) was enacted on Dec. 27, 2020. The CASE Act establishes a Copyright Claims Board (CCB) to hear copyright infringement matters and (1) caps damages at $30,000 total; (2) provides an opt-out option for the respondent; (3) includes streamlined procedures that limit discovery and rely mostly on written materials; (4) allows claims by both copyright owners and users for infringement and exceptions and limitations, respectively; and (5) includes additional fees for bad faith claimants and bars those who repeatedly abuse the system.
COPYRIGHT OFFICE
IMAGE SOURCE