CASE Act

The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (the CASE Act) is a proposed United States law that would provide a new means for copyright owners to file infringement claims;[1] for copyright users to adjudicate declarations of non-infringement;[2] for owners and users to submit claims related to Section 512(f) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act;[3] and for would-be defendants to submit counterclaims and legal defenses[4], such as fair use.[5] The bill would establish a Copyright Claims Board within the Copyright Office to hear these claims.[6] The Librarian of Congress would appoint three Copyright Claims Officers to preside over the tribunal.[7] The bill limits damages to US$15,000 per work, and $30,000 total per claim.[8] If copyright owners do not register the work in accordance with Section 412 of the Copyright Act, "statutory damages may not exceed $7,500 per work infringed, or a total of $15,000 in any one proceeding."[9] The measure was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on May 1, 2019,[10] and was passed on October 22, 2019.[11] An identical version was introduced in the United States Senate on May 1, 2019.[12]

History

In March 2006, the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property held a hearing titled “Remedies for Small Claims Copyright.”[13]  The Copyright Office subsequently published a report on alternatives to federal litigation for copyright claims.[14]

Previously, Hakeem Jeffries introduced the CASE Act in 2016[15] and 2017.[16] The House Committee on the Judiciary held a legislative hearing on the 2017 version of bill on September 27, 2018.[17]

Judy Chu (D-CA) and Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced similar legislation on December 8, 2016, titled the Fairness for American Small Creators Act.[18]

Congressional Action

The CASE Act of 2019 was introduced on May 1, 2019, in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2426)[19] by Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Doug Collins (R-GA); and for the first time in the Senate (S. 1273)[20] by Senators John Kennedy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI). Original House co-sponsors include: House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and House Committee on the Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Hank Johnson (D-GA), as well as Martha Roby (R-AL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Ben Cline (R-VA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).

On October 22, 2019, the House passed H.R. 2426 by a vote of 410-6.[11] Fifteen Members of Congress did not vote.[21] The six "no" votes were: Justin Amash (I-MI), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Greg Gianforte (R-MT), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Ralph Norman (R-SC).[22]

On September 12, 2019, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary approved the measure without amendment.[23]

Support

On June 26, 2019, in a statement to the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. Register of Copyrights Karyn A. Temple expressed the U.S. Copyright Office’s support for a small claims tribunal system. In her statement, she noted that “...low-dollar but still valuable copyrighted works are frequently infringed with impunity, and individual creators and small businesses often lacking [sic] an effective remedy... For this reason, the Copyright Office strongly supports a small claims tribunal structured along the lines of the proposal detailed in the Copyright Office’s 2013 report."[24]

The bipartisan legislation is also supported by groups such as the Copyright Alliance[25], Professional Photographers of America[26], American Society of Media Photographers[27], International Authors Forum[28], the Authors Guild[29] the Graphic Artists Guild[30], the NAACP, AFL-CIO[31], the American Conservative Union[32], and the American Bar Association[33], as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce[34], and thousands of independent creators and small businesses across the United States. Proponents of the bill support the Copyright Office’s findings that the small claims tribunal will provide a more financially accessible alternative to federal court, and will enable creators to protect their copyrighted material more effectively. Additionally, the small claims court would be able to pass judgement on whether or not use of a copyrighted work constitutes fair use, protecting good-faith users from litigious retribution.

In response to criticism concerns, a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on July 30, 2019, Register Temple said, “I am pleased to note that the legislation that was recently passed out of the full Senate Judiciary Committee contains several provisions to help address these concerns... These provisions, combined with the extensive notice requirements and due process safeguards for respondents, would provide important safeguards against the use of the CCB by bad faith claimants.”[35]

Criticism

Public interest groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), [36] Public Knowledge,[37] and the Authors Alliance[38] have opposed the bill, claiming that the CASE Act is still not enough to appropriately protect individuals from "sophisticated actors"[38] (corporations, copyright "trolls" and similar abusers).

These critics argue that:

  • a copyright office tribunal established outside of the judicial system will be unconstitutional
  • an opt-out system from this tribunal will open up unknowing parties to be blindsided with little recourse
  • the tribunal's statutory limits allows for much too steep of penalties

References
  1. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2019-10-23). "§1504(c)(1), H.R.2426 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  2. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2019-10-23). "§1504(c)(2), H.R.2426 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  3. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2019-10-23). "§1504(c)(3), H.R.2426 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  4. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2019-10-23). "§1504(c)(4), H.R.2426 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  5. "H. Rept. 116-252 - COPYRIGHT ALTERNATIVE IN SMALL-CLAIMS ENFORCEMENT ACT OF 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  6. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2019-10-23). "§1502, H.R.2426 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  7. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2019-10-23). "§ 1502(b)(1), H.R.2426 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  8. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2019-10-23). "§ 1504(e)(1), H.R.2426 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  9. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2019-10-23). "§1504(e)(1)(A)(ii)(II), H.R.2426 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  10. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2019-10-23). "Actions - H.R.2426 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  11. "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 578". Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  12. Kennedy, John (2019-09-12). "S.1273 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): CASE Act of 2019". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  13. "Remedies for Small Claims Copyright Hearing" (PDF).
  14. "Copyright Office Small Claims Report".
  15. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2016-07-27). "H.R.5757 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): CASE Act of 2016". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  16. Jeffries, Hakeem S. (2018-09-27). "H.R.3945 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): CASE Act of 2017". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  17. "H.R. 3945, the "Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2017"". Committee on the Judiciary - Democrats. 2018-09-27. Retrieved 2019-11-06.
  18. "Reps. Judy Chu and Lamar Smith Introduce Small Claims Reform for Creators".
  19. H.R. 2426, U.S. Congress.
  20. S. 1273, U.S. Congress.
  21. "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 578".
  22. "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 578".
  23. "S. Rept. 116-105 - COPYRIGHT ALTERNATIVE IN SMALL-CLAIMS ENFORCEMENT (CASE) ACT OF 2019".
  24. "Statement of Karyn A. Temple, United States Register of Copyrights, Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives" (PDF). Copyright.gov. June 26, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  25. "Copyright Small Claims". Copyright Alliance. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  26. "Big Day for Copyright Advocacy on Capitol Hill, says Professional Photographers of America (PPA)". PRWeb. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  27. ASMP (2019-07-19). "Press Release: ASMP Applauds Senate Judiciary Committee for Passing the CASE Act (S. 1273)". ASMP. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  28. "US authors make CASE for small-claims court". International Authors Forum. 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  29. "Please Support Small Copyright Claims (CASE Act)". The Authors Guild. 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-08-09.
  30. "Update on the CASE Act". Graphic Artists Guild. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  31. "Letter Supporting Legislation That Would Protect Artistic Creators | AFL-CIO". aflcio.org. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  32. ACU (2019-10-09). "ACU Leads Coalition Letter in Support of the CASE Act". ACU. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  33. The Case for the CASE Act - The Hill
  34. "U.S. Chamber Letter Supporting S. 1273 and H.R. 2426, "CASE Act"". U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
  35. "Statement of Karyn A. Temple, United States Register of Copyrights, Before the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate" (PDF). Copyright.gov. July 30, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  36. Stoltz, Mitch; McSherry, Corynne (November 29, 2017). "Congress Shouldn't Turn the Copyright Office Into A Copyright Court". Retrieved November 20, 2018.
  37. Stella, Shiva (May 1, 2019). "Public Knowledge Opposes Copyright Bill Creating Unaccountable "Small-Claims" Court". Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  38. Sheehan, Kerry Maeve (June 4, 2019). "COPYRIGHT LAW HAS A SMALL CLAIMS PROBLEM. THE CASE ACT WON'T SOLVE IT". Retrieved July 15, 2019.

Further reading
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