New Copyright Law Included In Spending Bill Makes Lawsuits Easier

LOS ANGELES—A controversial new copyright bill making it easier to sue over minor violations will become law if the current omnibus government spending bill that passed both houses of Congress earlier this week is signed into law by Donald Trump. The law, known as the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act, was quietly slipped into the omnibus bill which also contains about $900 million in COVID-19 economic relief. Though Trump has suggested that he may not sign the bill, without his signature not only would the COVID aid — which includes $600 direct payments to millions of Americans, as well as a $300 weekly unemployment insurance boost — go by the boards, but the entire federal government would likely be forced to shut down due to lack of funding. As AVN reported when the bill was introduced last year, the CASE Act could benefit porn producers who find their films and clips streaming illegally online. Previously, suing over such relatively minor copyright claims would cost more than plaintiffs could expect to recover. But CASE sets up a new, federal “Copyright Claim Board” that would rule on small claims, of $30,000 or less. Also lowering the cost for content creators who believe their copyrights have been violated, under the CASE Act, claimants are not required to be represented by a lawyer — or even to appear in person before the new federal claims board. Despite the potential benefits to creators of frequently-pirated adult content, the CASE Act has drawn sharp criticism from online civil liberties groups. They say that the law would stifle online free expression by making it easy to sue over the use of content on internet memes, or videos. Users who share such content could themselves be liable for up to $30,000 in damages under the law, according to the Electronic Freedom Foundation, which also notes that the decisions on “small claims” copyright cases will be made “not by neutral judges but by biased bureaucrats.” Evan Greer, deputy director of the online rights group Fight for the Future, said in a statement this week that the CASE Act is, “a terribly written law that will threaten ordinary Internet users with huge fines for everyday online activity. It’s absurd that lawmakers included these provisions in a must-pass spending bill.” “The CASE Act is supposed to be a solution to the complicated problem of online copyright infringement,” EFF Digital and Campaign Strategist Jason Kelly wrote. “In reality, it creates a system that will harm everyday users who, unlike the big players, won’t have the time and capacity to negotiate this new bureaucracy.” As of Wednesday, however, the fate of the 5,000-page omnibus bill that includes the CASE Act along with hundreds of other provisions remains remained in limbo. Photo By Will Brady / Wikimedia Commons