Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over copyright. But federal litigation is so expensive that many professional creators simply cannot afford to defend their rights when someone infringes their valuable copyrighted works.
Individual creators and small businesses are hurt the most by the high cost of federal litigation because the individual value of their works or transactions is often too low to warrant the expense of litigation and most attorneys won’t even consider taking these small cases. As a result, these infringements regularly go unchallenged, leading many creators to feel disenfranchised by the copyright system. In effect, these creators have rights but no remedies.
The CASE Act would create a much less formal, streamlined process for creators than now exists in federal court by:
- creating a three“judge” tribunal within the Copyright Office to handle small copyright claims and cap damages,
- allowing for statutory damages of up to $15,000 per work and no more than $30,000 in total damages, and
- removing the need to travel to Washington DC to pursue a case, as hearings would largely be done electronically.