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Graphic Artists Guild

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New York, NY 10024

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CASE Act: Down to the Wire

We have until the end of this year to get The CASE Act through Congress, and finally get justice for individual creators and copyright holders.

Over the past year, we’ve heard from designers and illustrators who’ve had their work stolen by copyright infringers – with impunity. Some have had client refuse to pay for their work and their licensing fees, and just go ahead and use their designs. One told us about having had a client reject their sketch for a project – only to drive by the client’s business months later and see that the sketch had been made into a neon sign. Two creators have told us that when they discovered their work had been stolen, the copyright infringer threatened to blacklist them in their business community. Many illustrators have told us of the shock they experience when they discover that someone has nabbed their work out of their portfolios and sold on t-shirts, totebags, and mugs.

The one thing all these graphic artists have in common is that copyright infringers refused to stop stealing their work, and even taunted them, “So sue me.”

That’s why we have been pushing to get the CASE Act passed. The Bill sailed through the House and through the Senate Judiciary Committee. But in between Senator Ron Wyden’s hold on the bill, the pandemic, the Supreme Court hearings, and the election upheaval, we’ve been stalled in getting the Bill through the Senate.

We can still make this happen. Please, contact your Senators and ask them to co-sponsor The CASE Act, S. 1273.

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two easy ways to contact your Senators

  1. Go to copyrightdefense.com, enter in your zip code, and get a one-click option to email a prewritten message to your Senators. (Yes, you can edit the message.)
  2. Find your Senators on the list below, and click for links to their contact page and social media. You can send them your own message, or use ours.

Message for your Senator

I’m contacting you to ask you to co-sponsor S. 1273, the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act). The CASE Act would establish a small copyright claims tribunal that would provide me with an affordable, practical, and voluntary option to the federal courts.

I am a graphic artist and a small business owner who relies on the protection copyright affords my work. Right now, it’s very difficult for me to enforce my copyrights. The federal court system is expensive, and many lawyers won’t take small copyright claims cases. The result is that when someone steals and uses my copyrighted work, I have little recourse to stop them.

It’s particularly essential to have the CASE Act passed now, while the US struggles with COVID-19 and an economic slowdown. In decades past, creators like me could weather economic crisis through licensing our work. With the rampant copyright infringement online technologies have made possible, we artists have lost significant licensing income. It’s imperative that we’re able to regain control of our copyrights, and the CASE Act will help make that happen.

The CASE Act is important to creators like me – visual artists, photographers, writers, songwriters, and others – and small copyright holders. It’s a fair and balanced bill that protects our rights while preventing abuse from copyright trolls. A small copyright claims tribunal as proposed in The Case Act would even the playing field for individual creators like me, and deter the rampant infringement of our work.

If your state or one of your Senators are not listed , that means those Senators are already co-sponsors of the CASE Act.

Alabama

Senator Doug Jones

Senator Richard Shelby

Alaska

Senator Lisa Murkowski

Senator Dan Sullivan

Arizona

Senator Martha McSally

Senator Krysten Sinema

Arkansa

Senator John Boozman

Senator Tom Cotton

California

Senator Kamala Harris

Colorado

Senator Michael Bennet

Senator Cory Gardner

Connecticut

Senator Chris Murphy

Delaware

Senator Tom Carper

Florida

Senator Marco Rubio

Senator Rick Scott

Georgia

Senator Kelly Loeffler

Senator David Perdue

Idaho

Senator Mike Crapo

Senator James E. Risch

Kansas

Senator Jerry Moran

Senator Pat Roberts

Kentucky

Senator Mitch McConnel

Senator Paul Rand

Louisiana

Senator Bill Cassidy

Maine

Senator Susan Collins

Senator Angus King

Maryland

Senator Ben Cardin

Senator Chris Van Hollen

Massachusetts

Senator Edward Markey

Senator Elizabeth Warren

Michigan

Senator Gary Peters

Senator Debbie Stabenow

Minnesota

Senator Amy Klobuchar

Senator Tina Smith

Missouri

Senator Roy Blunt

Senator Josh Hawley

Montana

Senator Steve Daines

Senator Jon Tester

Nebraska

Senator Deb Fischer

Senator Ben Sasse

Nevada

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

Senator Jacky Rosen

New Hampshire

Senator Maggie Hassan

New Jersey

Senator Cory Booker

Senator Bob Menendez

New York

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Senator Charles E. Schumer

North Carolina

Senator Richard Burr

North Dakota

Senator John Hoeven

Ohio

Senator Sherrod Brown

Senator Rob Portman

Oklahoma

Senator James M. Imhofe

Senator James Lankford

Oregon

Senator Jeff Merkley

Senator Ron Wyden

Pennsylvania

Senator Bob Casey

Senator Pat Toomey

Rhode Island

Senator Jack Reed

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

South Carolina

Senator Lindsey Graham

Senator Tim Scott

South Dakota

Senator Mike Rounds

Senator John Thune

Tennessee

Senator Lamar Alexander

Utah

Senator Mike Lee

Senator Mitt Romney

Vermont

Senator Bernie Sanders

Virginia

Senator Tim Kaine

Senator Mark Warner

Washington

Senator Maria Cantwell

Senator Patty Murray

West Virginia

Senator Shelley Moore Capito

Senator Joe Manchin

Wisconsin

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Senator Ron Johnson

Wyoming

Senator John Barrasso

Senator Michael Enzi