(C) News - Research Guides at Ohio Dominican University

The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act passed in June 2020 and has created a Copyright Claims Board (CCB), which is scheduled to begin to operate by the end of 2021. It brings new possibilities for lawsuits concerning alleged copyright infringement. It was created to address the expenses encountered in bringing copyright action into a federal court and to make it easier for infringement lawsuits.

There is now a Copyright Claims Board from the U.S. Copyright Office who will hear proceedings of small copyright claims; I say "proceedings" rather than "cases" because technically the CCB is not a court within the judiciary branch. Yet their decisions are typically final and they can award a claimant money, to be paid by the responder (defendant) of up to $30,000 ("small claims").

There are pros and cons for copyright holders and for libraries, educational institutions, and institution employees. One pro is that the CASE Act limits total damages that can be awarded to up to $30,000. However, that does not include legal fees; legal fees are not awarded in a CCB hearing. And there have been concerns raised by those in higher education and libraries.

For more information and current opinions:

The Copyright Office is reviewing feedback on their proposals for CCB procedures at the time of this post. Currently the procedures indicate that libraries can opt out of the entire system up front once for all so that they don't have to be on the lookout for notices of possible copyright infringement from the Copyright Office or Copyright Claims Board (exact procedure not yet established at the time of this post). However, library employees, university employees, and the parent institution do not have this option; they must be watchful for Copyright Office/CCB copyright infringement notices and make the decision whether to be a defendant against infringement claims in the CCB proceedings or opt out as each individual infringement claim is made. If they ignore the notice they receive, they will automatically be required to appear before the CCB and defend their actions against the infringement claimant.

So be watchful! The Copyright Office of CCB will serve notice if someone files against an institution or names individuals in their filing. The institution and/or the individuals will need to respond every time they are served notice and decide in each instance whether to opt out or appear before the CCB. If you choose to opt out, then the alleged infringement claimant will then choose whether to take the organization/individual(s) to court in the U.S. court system, with its checks and balances, which aren't necessarily part of the CCB.