2021 started with some good news for small, individual artists. United States passed into law the small claims procedure that will now apply to cases of copyright infringement. This is a welcome change, since small artists and boutique creative companies won’t have to compete in federal courts for every instance of IP theft.

US does lag behind other countries on this type of legislation. Being the number one in the world that contributes to copyright infringement instances, it might be surprising to some as to why it’s only happening now. So, let’s look in depth of what this legislation is, what is means and how it’s going to make lives of many artists just a little bit easier.

The CASE Act

The new legislation was dubbed the CASE Act – the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act. Its aim is to establish a system, where small claims courts could take over copyright infringement disputes. This will solve a long-standing problem, where all copyright claims needed to be handled through federal courts. It’s expensive, time-consuming and unattainable for most small businesses and individual artists.

In cases where claims do not pass the mark of several thousand dollars, it’s easy to give up on federal courts. They require expensive attorneys, who in their own right, prefer larger cases. The CASE Act opens more opportunities from small creators to represent themselves without getting mired in expensive legal fees and long procedures.

The CASE Act in practice

In essence, the CASE Act allows photographers and other small artists to take their cases of copyright infringement through the Copyright Claims Board. The Board itself is part of the US Copyright Office and comprised of a panel of experts in the field of copyright infringement. The panel, therefore, has enough expertise and now a legal basis to review every small claim. It will be able to award claims of up to $15,000 per work, or up to $30,000 per claim. It’s important to note that in order to file the claim, the artist or an organisation must be registered within the US Copyright Office.

There are other practical aspects of the CASE Act. Aside from monetary penalties, the board can also rule to send the accused party a cease notice, ordering them to stop using the stolen IP.

There are also ways that the accused can defend themselves. It they choose to dispute the claim, within 60 days of filing of the copyright infringement, the defendant can reject the process and opt to go through federal courts instead. Appeals of small claims will also go through the federal courts system.

While it doesn’t sound like much, for small creators in the US, the CASE Act is a big deal. They can finally enforce copyright claims over their work and do so without the threat of bankruptcy. It simplifies the copyright infringement claims procedure, so the individual artist can represent themselves. To clarify, on federal level, larger cases will continue to be heard.

Copyright claims elsewhere

It’s worth noting that IPEC does expect the artist to have attempted to resolve the dispute amicably, before applying for small claims. For example, if you suspect that your visual artwork has been stolen from you Instagram account, you can use Kleptofinder to comb through the social media. When it finds copies of your artwork, you can report the IP theft instantly and wait for Instagram to remove copies of your work.

However, if this scenario won’t work and Instagram will refuse to remove copies of your work, you will now have enough sustainable evidence to apply for small claims. It’s the written proof that counts, so whenever you go to the guilty party, make sure you do so in writing to have something to show.

It’s also noteworthy that such small claims courts also exist in many European Union states. The EU itself is working to harmonize legislation between its members enough to ease the handling of international copyright infringement, as well as domestic.

We encourage all artists to keep track of your copyrights. Read up on your local laws and procedures regarding copyright claims and protect your IP.