Copyright Claims Board Issues First Decision

On February 28, the Copyright Claims Board issued its first decision in a small copyright case, Oppenheimer v. Prutton, finding in favor of a copyright owner and awarding him one thousand dollars in statutory damages. The copyright owner alleged that his photograph was posted on a small business's website, with the Copyright Management Information (CMI) removed.

The costs of filing and putting on a copyright infringement or related case in federal court typically run into six figures, making small claims entirely uneconomical to litigate. This first decision appears to have ably served the purpose for which the CCB was established, expanding access to justice for copyright owners by providing a lower-cost venue for deciding disputes.

Free State Foundation President Randolph May and I recommended that Congress establish a small claims tribunal for copyright infringement claims in our book, Modernizing Copyright Law for the Digital Age: Constitutional Foundation for Reform (Carolina Academic Press, 2020). Fortunately, in December 2022, Congress passed the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act). The CASE Act authorized the U.S. Copyright Office to set up the CCB. 

 

(h/t to Jonathan Bailey for his March 2 PlagiarismToday article and link to the CCB's decision.)