Small Claims for Copyright: What the Copyright Claims Board Actually Does
By Casey Scott McKay ·
For most of copyright's history the enforcement system had a floor: below roughly fifty thousand dollars in exposure, a claim was not worth bringing, because federal litigation costs more than that before discovery. The CASE Act created a tribunal for everything under that floor. This article explains the Copyright Claims Board - what it can hear, what it cannot, the thirty-thousand-dollar ceiling that defines it, and the sixty-day opt-out right that makes the whole thing voluntary and is the single fact that determines whether a claim is worth filing. It covers the three claim types available, including the underused misrepresentation claim against an abusive takedown notice, the registration requirement that is looser than the one governing federal suit, and the smaller-claims track for disputes under five thousand dollars. It explains what a determination is worth: binding between the parties, precedential for nobody, reviewable only on narrow grounds. And it closes with an honest assessment of who the forum actually serves.
IP and Technology > Copyright | Article | Published 12 February 2026 - Updated 19 June 2026 | Casey Scott McKay - marksy.us
Summary. For most of copyright's history the enforcement system had a floor: below roughly fifty thousand dollars in exposure, a claim was not worth bringing, because federal litigation costs more than that before discovery. The CASE Act created a tribunal for everything under that floor. This article explains the Copyright Claims Board — what it can hear, what it cannot, the thirty-thousand-dollar ceiling that defines it, and the sixty-day opt-out right that makes the whole thing voluntary and is the single fact that determines whether a claim is worth filing. It covers the three claim types available, including the underused misrepresentation claim against an abusive takedown notice, the registration requirement that is looser than the one governing federal suit, and the smaller-claims track for disputes under five thousand dollars. It explains what a determination is worth: binding between the parties, precedential for nobody, reviewable only on narrow grounds. And it closes with an honest assessment of who the forum actually serves.
Keywords: copyright claims board · case act · 17 usc 1501 · small claims copyright · opt out sixty days · thirty thousand dollar cap · statutory damages fifteen thousand · section 512(f) misrepresentation claim · declaration of noninfringement · smaller claims track · registration requirement ccb · preclusive effect no precedent · register review · district court confirmation · bad faith conduct bar · photographers enforcement · remote proceedings · respondent default · voluntary tribunal
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