The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act) was passed in December 2020, establishing a Copyright Claims Board (CCB) in the U.S. Copyright Office. Rather than routing all copyright infringement claims through the federal courts, which can be a costly process, the CCB can decide “small claims” copyright infringement cases with damages of up to $30,000. 

IF YOU RECEIVE A NOTICE

If you live in New York, then a genuine CCB claim notice is required to be “served” to you either in-person (i.e., handed to you) or by U.S. mail. If you have received only an email, you should be wary of its contents because email is not considered valid “service of process” in New York.

A genuine CCB case notice will include a docket number and other information yet to be determined. The notice will have information about and links to the eCCB Portal, the CCB’s electronic filing and case management system, to which you can navigate and enter the docket number on your notice. The portal will have more information about the particular claim filed against you. 

A claim filed against you in the CCB means that a purported copyright owner is asserting that you have infringed their copyright through something you have uploaded, reproduced, published, created, distributed, performed, or displayed.

The notice you receive signifies that the claimant has alleged copyright infringement, but the notice does not mean you have actually infringed or that the CCB will ultimately determine you have infringed. 

Indeed, there are many reasons why your use of a copyrighted work may not be an infringement. For instance, there are key exceptions to copyright law that support teaching, scholarship, and research—most notably, fair use. These exceptions provide complete defenses to claims of infringement or, in some instances, permit a significant reduction of damages. Further, not everything is actually protected by copyright. Claimants may believe they hold copyright in materials that are not subject to copyright (e.g., because the materials reflect only facts or ideas) or are no longer protected by copyright (e.g., because the copyright in the materials has expired). Claimants may also believe that they hold copyright to materials for which copyright is actually held by a third party. 

If you believe one of these situations applies to you—that is, that your use of the material is protected by an exception or that the allegations in the claim are not valid—you may wish to dispute the claim or opt out of the CCB proceeding entirely. We explain your options below. Regardless, we recommend you seek legal counsel as soon as possible after receipt of a CCB case notice.

If you receive a properly-served notice, do not ignore it. If you ignore it and do nothing, the case will proceed in the CCB, and a default judgment can be entered against you. This means that the CCB can enter a judgment holding you responsible for all the damages claimed in the notice (up to $30,000), regardless of whether the assertions are true or whether you could have claimed any defenses.

To avoid a default judgment, you will need to respond in the time prescribed by the notice. You can choose to respond in one of two ways:

• Proceed within the CCB tribunal. If you proceed, the case will be heard by the CCB. The CCB predicts that most cases will be handled completely online, so you will not need to travel to Washington D.C. (where the U.S. Copyright Office is physically located). You will be bound by the CCB’s decision. If the claimant wins, you may have to pay up to $15,000 for each infringed work, with a maximum cap of $30,000. CCB determinations are final. There are only limited circumstances—such as fraud, corruption, and misrepresentation—when a CCB determination can be reviewed by a federal court or the Copyright Office.

• Opt out of the CCB proceeding. It’s important to understand that, if you opt out, the copyright claimant cannot restart the same claim against you in front of the CCB. So, if you opt out of the CCB, the claimant can either stop pursuing the matter entirely or decide to file suit against you in federal court (assuming they meet all of the federal court filing requirements). Federal court is more expensive and complex than the CCB’s small claims process, so many small claimants may not want to incur the expense or may feel that their allegations will not survive scrutiny in federal court. Also, Columbia employees likely have broader protections in federal court than in the CCB, so a timely opt-out may be a good option. 

If you decide to opt out, you must mail the paper opt-out form provided with your notice, or complete an online opt-out form on the CCB website, within 60 days of service. Note that if you decide to opt out, your decision applies only in response to that particular claim you received. As an individual (as opposed to certain organizations and their employees), you cannot opt out prospectively from all future CCB claims.

The US Copyright Office has issued clarification of their intended regulations concerning the library and archive blanket opt out of CASE Act proceedings that forms part of the legislation concerning CCB claims. The CASE Act provides that libraries and archives can opt out of CASE Act proceedings prospectively.  Thus, the Libraries blanket opt out that will be filed with the US Copyright Office will also cover staff and their activities.  Therefore, individual staff members of Columbia University Libraries cannot become a party to a CCB proceeding so long as the activity at issue falls within the scope of their employment. 

If you or Columbia University Libraries are named as a party to a CCB proceeding, contact Copyright Advisory at copyright@columbia.edu without delay so that the Office of the General Counsel of the University can be notified accordingly.  You must mark URGENT in the subject line of the email and include a scanned copy of the CCB claim.

The U.S. Copyright Office provides additional information on their Copyright Claims Board Frequently Asked Questions page.

This Guide was adapted from the CASE Act Information Guide developed by the UC Berkeley Library

The information presented by the Libraries about copyright is intended for information purposes, and should not be construed as legal advice.