Copyright, Fair Use, Creative Commons, Public Domain: Copyright Claims Board (CCB)

What is the CCB?

The Copyright Claims Board (CCB) was established by the U.S. Copyright Office in response to the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (CASE Act). This legislation aimed to create a quicker, more accessible, and more affordable way to resolve copyright disputes involving lower monetary damages compared to traditional federal court litigation. Statutory or actual damages limited to $15,000 if work was registered before violation or $7,500 if registration is in process; total damages limited to $30,000.

The CCB functions as a small claims tribunal with a three-member panel that has expertise in copyright matters. The panelists must all have experience with copyright law, representing both copyright holders and defendants in copyright proceedings, as well as experience with alternative dispute resolution processes.  Additionally, the board has two copyright claims attorneys to answer public questions. Parties may represent themselves or may retain representation from a lawyer.  Also, law clinics and law students may help with creating and submitting claims; for a list of programs and clinics see the CCB's Pro Bono Assistance page.

Types of claims

The CCB does not use the expected language of legal cases, plaintiff and defense; instead, those who file claims are referred to as claimants and those whom they file against are called respondents. Claimants can file the following types of claims:

1. Claims of copyright infringement
2. Claims that uses do not constitute infringement
3. Claims that Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998) notices are improper or inappropriate

What to do if you receive a CCB notice of a claim

Most significantly, receiving a notice is simply a claim of infringement and not a judgement or an indication the the CCB will ultimately side with the claimant.  Many academic uses of copyrighted material may be justified by to either fair use (see the fair use tab of this guide) or the TEACH Act (2002; for a simple explanation, see this summary from Stanford University) or exceptions noted in the U.S Code, Title 17, section 110.  Additionally, use of some materials may also be subject to terms of Creative Commons licenses or public domain (see the Creative Commons and public domain tab of this guide).

If one receives a claim notice, do not ignore it because that could lead to a default judgement against the recipient which could cost as much as $30,000.  Contact a lawyer or a party on the CCB's Pro Bono Assistance page (see above) for advice on how to proceed.  There are basically two options for parties who have received CCB claims notices:

1. Agree to have the claim brought before the CCB: Doing this will oblige the respondent to the judgement of the board. Although judgements may be reviewed by the U.S. Copyright office or a federal court, this may only happen with claims that were made either fraudulently or in bad faith or involved corruption.
2. Opt-out the CCB proceeding: This option will stop the claim proceedings in the CCB, but may leave a respondent open to a claim filed in a federal court where proceedings are generally more drawn out and far more expensive.

To learn more about the CCB:

• CCB website
• CCB handbook
• CCB "About" page (includes key features of the board, current board members, and schedule of fees for filing claims and requesting a review of a decision)
• University of Washington page on the CCB
• University of Arizona page on the CCB
• University of Texas page on the CCB

In constructing this page, the author consulted the pages listed above; some of the content of the first section of this page was adapted from a response from Google Gemini, a generative AI tool.