Earlier this month, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Tom Marino (R-PA) introduced the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2016” or “CASE Act”, which would create a small claims court facilitated by the Copyright Office for federal copyright-related claims as a voluntary alternative to the federal court system.
Kevin Erickson, National Organizing Director for Future of Music Coalition made the following statement:
At its best, copyright law aspires to protect the rights of creators of all sizes, while benefiting the public interest. Unfortunately, mounting a copyright infringement lawsuit is often extremely expensive and time consuming. This means that musicians, songwriters, and independent labels without massive financial resources lack the ability to meaningfully respond to even clear cases of infringement. What good is a right if you can‘t enforce it?
A small claims court for copyright would makes it easier and less expensive for these creators to defend their rights. We’re also encouraged that the bill contains important provisions ensuring due process and discouraging false claims.
We’re grateful to Rep. Jeffries and Rep. Marino for their attention to this issue and look forward to working with Congress and other stakeholders to achieve a small claims solution that works for musicians.
Future of Music Coalition is a national non-profit education, research and advocacy organization that seeks a bright future for creators and listeners. FMC works towards this goal through continuous interaction with its primary constituency — musicians — and in collaboration with other creator/public interest groups. More