Copyright Small Claims
Enforcing unauthorized uses of your copyrights can be expensive; the Copyright Claims Board offers a small claims alternative.
Litigating copyright infringement cases in federal court can be complicated, time consuming, and very costly, prompting those with relatively small claims to avoid enforcing their rights. To combat this, Congress enacted the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (“CASE”) Act in 2020, which established a Copyright Claims Board (“CCB”). The CCB exists to hear the following types of “small claims” in a streamlined format:
Copyright infringement claims
Declarations of noninfringement
Misrepresentations in notices or counter-notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
For copyright infringement and misrepresentation claims, damages awards are capped at $30,000. For declarations of noninfringement, there are no financial awards. Instead, a successful claimant receives a determination that the use isn’t copyright infringement.
CCB proceedings also have a “smaller claims” track, that is, a further streamlined format for claims which caps damages at $5,000.
And, even though copyright registration is still required for the CCB to render a decision on copyright infringement, the CASE Act allows a claimant to file a copyright infringement claim with the CCB at the same time as filling an application for copyright registration.
We can assist with enforcing your copyrights by initiating CCB small claims proceedings.
Contact us now to learn more about how you can enforce your copyrights.