Small Claims Copyright Act Introduced in the House

By Dianna Dilworth 

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that will give authors the right to resolve “small” copyright claims.

The bill, known as the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2016, gives individual authors to right to defend their intellectual property rights without having to file a massive federal lawsuit.

The Authors Guild has been pushing for such legislation for the past decade. The Guild has been actively working with Congressman Jeffries’ office on this proposal for several months.

“The legislation will finally provide authors with a means of enforcing their rights,” stated Mary Rasenberger, executive director of the Authors Guild. “Federal court litigation is unaffordable to most authors and other creators, and so they have been left with unenforceable rights. We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to ensure that the legislation creates a tribunal that is accessible, navigable, and fair to authors—without having to hire lawyers.”