What Is the Copyright Claims Board?

The Copyright Claims Board is a voluntary small-claims tribunal in the Copyright Office, created by the CASE Act of 2020. It hears infringement claims, declarations of noninfringement, and misrepresentation claims over takedown notices or counter-notices, with related counterclaims (17 U.S.C. § 1504). Proceedings are entirely online, with written submissions and limited discovery and no jury. A respondent may opt out within 60 days after service, ending the proceeding (§ 1506(i)). Filing costs $100 in total ($40 at filing, plus $60 once the proceeding becomes active) (37 C.F.R. § 201.3(g)). The Board cannot issue injunctions, and review of its decisions is narrow.

Recovery is capped at $30,000 per proceeding (§ 1504(e)). Statutory damages run up to $15,000 per work for a timely registered work, and up to $7,500 per work (and $15,000 in total) for a work not timely registered. Attorney's fees and costs are available only for bad-faith conduct, capped at $5,000, or $2,500 against a party without a lawyer, absent extraordinary circumstances (§ 1506). A party may ask the Board to reconsider within 30 days, for a clear error of law or fact material to the outcome or a technical mistake; if reconsideration is denied, the party may ask the Register of Copyrights to review the denial for abuse of discretion (§ 1506). A district court may vacate, modify, or correct a determination only on narrow grounds, including fraud or the Board exceeding its authority, on a request filed within 90 days (§ 1508). A Board decision binds only the parties to that proceeding and has no precedential effect (§ 1507).

Pinpoint: 17 U.S.C. §§ 1504, 1506. Related term: Copyright Claims Board.

Sources.

• 17 U.S.C. § 1504: proceedings of the Copyright Claims Board. law.cornell.edu
• 17 U.S.C. § 1506: determinations of the Copyright Claims Board; opt-out and reconsideration. law.cornell.edu

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