Copyright Small Claims Mechanism Proposed

On the same day House Judiciary Committee leadership was proposing a small claims adjudication mechanism within the Copyright Office as one of its initial reform proposals, Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) were introducing a bill to create a small claims mechanism in the Copyright Office.

The bill, the Fairness for American Small Creators is intended to give smaller content creators a faster and easier way to pursue copyright infringement claims rather than fact the cost of a federal court suit.

“Core copyright industries are essential to our economy, contributing $1.2 trillion – or almost 7% of our GDP – in 2015,” said Chu. “Part of that contribution comes from small and individual creators who depend on licensing and copyright to turn their art into a living. However, the increase in digital theft has made it harder for creators to be properly compensated for their work."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.