Congress creates new copyright court that could make trolling easier

Enlarge / Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) was the lead sponsor of the CASE Act. (credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Members of Congress were given just a few hours to read the massive 5,600-page spending bill that passed both legislative chambers on Monday evening. In addition to authorizing $900 billion in COVID relief spending and $1.4 trillion in other spending, the package also included a number of smaller bills that would not have otherwise become law this legislative session.

These included two significant changes to copyright law. One was the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act of 2020, legislation that Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) introduced two weeks ago. The act makes it a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, to run a pirate streaming service.

The omnibus also included the CASE Act, a proposal to create a new "small claims court" for copyright infringement. Instead of filing a conventional lawsuit, copyright holders will be able to file a complaint with a new agency called the Copyright Claims Board. The CCB will function much like a court, hearing evidence from both sides and then deciding whether to award damages. But it will develop an informal, streamlined process in an effort to keep the costs of litigation down.

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