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New Small Claims Procedure for Copyright Disputes

By Scott Graham
March 01, 2021

The Copyright Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement Act was signed into law in December 2020. The CASE Act fulfills the longstanding goal of the U.S. Copyright Office to establish a small claims court. The measure tasked the office with establishing the Copyright Claims Board and adopting governing regulations. Damages are capped at $15,000 per work and $30,000 total per case, with modest attorney fees available in cases of bad faith. Defendants will also be given 60 days to opt out of an action before the tribunal.

How will all this work in practice? Nobody can be absolutely sure until the regulations are adopted and the board starts hearing cases. But Berger Singerman partner Geoffrey Lottenberg foresees a quick path for addressing ongoing infringement by hard-to-reach defendants. We recently caught up with the Fort Lauderdale-based Lottenberg for his take. This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Q: What do we expect this tribunal to be like? Are there any comparable role models for the Copyright Claims Board?

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