CASE Act Alert: Congress Passes CASE Act to Create Small Claims Tribunal in the Copyright Office

Listen to IBPA podcast host Peter Goodman discuss the CASE Act with the Authors Guild's Mary Rasenberger and Cheryl L. Davis on "Inside Independent Publishing with IBPA."

IBPA Played a Key Role in Helping Pass the New Law, Which Creates a Small Claims Tribunal in the Copyright Office

(Manhattan Beach, CA - January 11, 2020) -- 2020 was a difficult year for many, but we ended the year with some very good news to share.

On December 21, 2020 Congress passed the CASE Act as part of the end-of-year omnibus and COVID-19 relief package, titled the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021”, and it was signed into law by the President on December 27, 2020.

Because of the tremendous support and hard work of the IBPA Advocacy Committee and IBPA members at-large, this new legislation will create a forum called the Copyright Claims Board within the U.S. Copyright Office to hear copyright claims of up to $15,000 per claim and an aggregate of $30,000. The cost of bringing a claim will range between a minimum of $100 and a maximum of the filing cost of an action in federal district court (currently $350), and the claims will be heard by a panel of three Copyright Claims Officers appointed by the Librarian of Congress, at least two of whom must have experience representing both owners and users of copyrighted works.

The legislation ultimately ensures that individual content creators and other copyright owners who depend on copyright for their livelihoods but can’t afford the costs of protracted litigation gain access to justice. If you are a new IBPA member and unfamiliar with the CASE Act, you can learn more about it here.

Some details about how the small claims court will work in practice still need to be determined by the Copyright Office so it won’t actually become effective until, at the earliest, December 27, 2021 and at the latest, late June 2022. Still, this is a great move forward for U.S. copyright holders and should help content creators more easily defend their copyrighted content for years to come.

The Role of IBPA

As the largest trade association for independent book publishers in the U.S., IBPA has been advocating for the CASE Act for more than a year. Beginning in mid-2019, IBPA joined the Copyright Alliance and began to actively ask its nearly 3,700 members to contact their state representatives and encourage them to pass the bill into law.

In October 2019, the CASE Act passed in the House of Representatives 410-6, a huge bipartisan win, but later stalled in the Senate. Its enactment into law last month as part of Congress’s year-end appropriations package is a testament to the advocacy of IBPA members and dozens of other creator organizations who worked together to make their voices heard. If you were one of the many to petition your legislators on behalf of the bill, please take some time to thank them using the easy online form letter prepared by the Copyright Alliance: https://p2a.co/21l3imn.

The IBPA Advocacy Committee will continue to share educational materials and hold events to explain the small claims process, so stayed tuned for more information throughout the year.

Additional Background Links

• "Possible CASE Act Movement Over the Next Several Weeks: IBPA Members Should Contact Senators Today" (November 9, 2020) 

• "IBPA Launches New Social Media Campaign Messages in Support of the CASE Act" (January 5, 2020)

• "IBPA Sends CASE Act Letters of Support to Sen. McConnell and Sen. Schumer" (November 6, 2019)

• "IBPA Applauds Passing of the CASE Act, H.R. 2426 in the U.S. House of Representatives" (October 24, 2019)

About the IBPA Advocacy Committee

The IBPA Advocacy Committee is a standing committee of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) tasked with identifying, prioritizing, and developing strategies to address issues of concern to independent publishers. The committee's objectives are to (1) identify and prioritize issues of concern to independent publishers, (2) establish campaigns and take actions to address these concerns, and (3) ensure that IBPA members are informed of these concerns, and the steps taken to address them. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org/advocacycommittee.

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,600 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.