The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (HR 2426) would establish a small claims court for copyright claims. Small artists face real challenges enforcing their copyrights; unfortunately, the proposed legislation won’t effectively help individual artists and will instead only create new problems for Americans.
The Case Against the CASE Act
- The CASE Act doesn’t actually help small artists
- The court would live within the Copyright Office instead of within the judiciary system, absent any independent judicial review
- The claims system could assign damages up to $30,000 – five times the national average of other small claims courts
- The opt-out system will benefit copyright trolls and hurt innocent Americans
- The opt-out system will benefit large corporation and mass infringers, who will both opt-out while individual Americans and small business will be stuck with the bill
Resources To Get Up To Speed
Jurist: “The CASE Act is for Trolls”
ReCreate Coalition: “What Creators, Users, Startups, Tech Industry, Digital Rights Advocates Are Saying About The CASE Act”
ReCreate Coalition: “ReCreate Letter to Congress: Reject the CASE Act”
American Civil Liberties Union: “ACLU Vote Recommendation for H.R. 2426, The CASE Act”
ReCreate Coalition: “The Truth About DMCA Abuse and the CASE Act”
ReCreate Coalition: “The CASE Act: Myth vs. Fact”
Morning Consult: “CASE Act Would Create a Drive-Through Window for Copyright Trolling”
The Hill: “The CASE Act’s flaws threaten free speech and Congress must fix them”
Electronic Frontier Foundation: “Congress Continues to Ignore the Dangerous Flaws of the CASE Act“
Morning Consult: “Time to Go Back to the Drawing Board on the CASE Act”
ReCreate Coalition: “ReCreate Coalition Letter to Oppose the CASE Act”
ReCreate Coalition: “The CASE Act — A Windfall to Attorneys and Bad Idea for the Rest of Us”
Authors Alliance: “Copyright Law Has a Small Claims Problem. The CASE Act Won’t Solve It”
Public Knowledge: “The CASE Act: Small Claims, Big Risks”
Electronic Frontier Foundation: “Congress Shouldn’t Turn the Copyright Office Into A Copyright Court”
ReCreate Coalition: Letter Urging Congress to Reject CASE Act
Techdirt: “Congress And The CASE Of The Proposed Bill That Helps Copyright Trolls”
Consumer Technology Association: Letter to Judiciary Hearing re: CASE Act
Engine: Letter to House Judiciary Hearing re: CASE Act
American Library Association: “The Copyright Office doesn’t need a small claims court”