[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 218 (Monday, December 21, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7930-S7931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                CASE Act

  Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. President, after many years of work to ensure small 
creators have a voice, I am glad to share the Copyright Alternatives in 
Small-Claims Enforcement Act, also known as CASE Act, passed the House 
and Senate and is awaiting the President's signature. This bipartisan 
and bicameral legislation is critical for protecting the creative 
middle class in Louisiana and across America who rely upon 
commercializing their creative works for their livelihood.
  Photographers, visual artists, independent movie directors, 
musicians, authors, and other creators who make up the creative middle 
class rely on copyright to protect their works from unauthorized 
reproduction. However, under current law, copyright owners with small 
infringement claims cannot obtain relief because district court 
litigation costs are higher than the damages sought. That is where CASE 
Act comes in. This legislation creates the Copyright Claims Board 
within the U.S. Copyright Office to provide a simple, quick, and less 
expensive forum for small copyright owners to enforce their rights.
  The creation of this bill began more than 7 years ago. In 2013, after 
a comprehensive study, the U.S. Copyright Office made several 
legislative recommendations to help independent creators in enforcing 
their constitutionally protected copyrights. Since then, Congress has 
worked in lock-step with the U.S. Copyright Office to create a 
framework to accomplish this goal. That framework culminated in CASE 
Act.
  In response to concerns raised by the library community, the bill now 
includes a blanket opt-out provision for libraries and archives. This 
opt-out is expressly limited to activities covered by section 108 of 
the Copyright Act. It does not apply to activities that fall outside 
that section, such as websites making and offering unlicensed copies of 
works. A library or archive must remain in full compliance with section 
108 at all times to be eligible for the blanket opt-out privilege and 
would lose its eligibility for the blanket opt-out if, at any time, it 
is found to have violated any of the conditions throughout section 108.
  I want to extend my gratitude to the photographers, musicians, 
artists, authors, and many other creators who have helped make the 
passage of CASE Act a success. There are so many individuals who have 
been instrumental in

[[Page S7931]]

creating and passing this legislation that I cannot possibly name them 
all here, but a few groups that deserve special recognition are 
Copyright Alliance, Professional Photographers of America, Professional 
Photographers of Louisiana, American Bar Association, American 
Intellectual Property Law Association, American Society of Media 
Photographers, Association of American Publishers, Authors Guild, 
Graphic Artists Guild, Recording Academy, Songwriters Guild of America, 
and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. I also want to thank my staff, who worked 
tireless hours wading through copyright law to ensure we ended up with 
the best bill possible. And thank you to my colleagues in the House and 
Senate, particularly Senator Dick Durbin and our original cosponsors, 
for supporting this legislation and agreeing to its passage.

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