What is the CASE Act?

On December 27th, 2020, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019, or CASE Act, was signed into law as part of the intellectual property section of the Covid-19 stimulus bill. This piece of legislation creates the Copyright Claims Board, a part of the U.S. Copyright Office, which will handle copyright disputes with damages below $30,000. Cases brought to the board will include copyright infringement claims, declarations of non infringement, false takedown notice claims, and other related claims. 

In addition to outlining the procedure of bringing cases to the Copyright Claims Board, the bill also establishes that the three “Copyright Claims Officers” sitting on the board must be licensed attorneys with seven or more years of legal experience, two of which having “substantial experience in the evaluation, litigation, or adjudication of copyright infringement claims” and the third having “substantial familiarity with copyright law and dispute resolution experience.” The term for each office will last six years.

MusicAnswers stood with other music creator groups to support this important new legislation. We believe that it will provide a long overdue alternative forum for resolving copyright claims.