Currently, small copyright holders – individual designers and illustrators – are disenfranchised from the copyright system. Copyright cases must be heard in federal court, and the cost of bringing a copyright infringement lawsuit forward is beyond the means of most graphic artists. On top of that, many lawyers won’t take small infringement cases – a survey conducted by the American Bar Association indicated that less than one-third of IP attorneys would take an infringement case of less than $30,000. In fact, copyright is so difficult for small rights holders to enforce that it’s been called a “right with no remedy.”

To address this, Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Tom Marino (R-PA), as well as Representatives Doug Collins (R-GA), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), and Ted Lieu (D-CA), introduced H.R. 3945, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2017. The act calls for the establishment of a small claims tribunal to which individual creators can bring small copyright claims – ones valued at $30,000 or less. This new tribunal would provide an easy and streamlined process, is 100% voluntary with opt-out provisions, and is inexpensive.

It’s imperative that individual artists come out in support of this bill! We need a groundswell of support from individuals to show Congress that there is grassroots support for the CASE act. We need more representatives to co-sponsor the bill. Click here to be taken to an advocacy page on copyrightdefense.com. You can choose to either telephone or email your representative. Copyrightdefense even has a field for you to find your representatives, and has provided talking point and a sample email.