Is the Copyright Claims Board a good option for a small infringement claim?

As our page on copyright and trademark law explains, registration timing often decides whether an infringement claim is worth taking to federal court. For claims that are real but small, Congress created a cheaper forum in the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act of 2020. This page covers what it costs, what it can award, where it falls short, and who it tends to suit. You still need to show ownership, copying and lack of permission, the elements our post on copyright and trademark infringement walks through.

How a Copyright Claims Board case runs, step by step

1. File the claim online. Open an eCCB account, file the claim and pay the first $40.
2. Compliance review. A Copyright Claims Attorney checks the claim. If it falls short, you get 30 days from the notice to file an amended claim with no new fee (17 U.S.C. 1506(f)).
3. Serve the respondent. Within 90 days after the notice to proceed, you must file proof of service, made in person or by a waiver the respondent signs; a waiver request gives the respondent 30 days to return it. Service is only possible within the United States (1506(g)).
4. The opt-out window. The respondent has 60 days from service to opt out (1506(i)). If it stays in, the case becomes active and the second $60 payment comes due.
5. The active phase. A scheduling order sets the response, a limited exchange of documents and written questions, and written testimony. A hearing, if the Board holds one, is by videoconference (CCB Proceeding Phases).
6. Determination and review. The written decision can be challenged by a request for reconsideration within 30 days, then a request for review by the Register of Copyrights within 30 days after a denial (1506(w), (x)). A federal court can vacate or correct it only on narrow grounds such as fraud, within 90 days (17 U.S.C. 1508(c)).
7. Collecting. If the other side does not pay, you may apply to a federal district court to enforce the determination within one year after it is issued, or after any reconsideration or review ends, whichever is later (1508(a)).

What is the Copyright Claims Board?

The Copyright Claims Board, or CCB, is a tribunal located in the U.S. Copyright Office and available as a voluntary alternative to federal court (CCB, About). The Board is made up of three Copyright Claims Officers. Claims are filed online through the eCCB system, and proceedings run on written submissions plus conferences and hearings held remotely, with no in-person appearances (17 U.S.C. 1506(c)). Parties may use a lawyer but do not have to (1506(d)).

The Board hears only three kinds of claims: copyright infringement, requests for a declaration that an activity does not infringe, and misrepresentation in takedown notices or counter-notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. 1504(c)). It cannot hear claims against anyone residing outside the United States, or against a federal or state government entity (1504(d)).

What does it cost to file?

The government filing fee is $100, split into two payments (37 CFR 201.3(g)). The first $40 is due when the claim is filed. The second $60 is due only if the opt-out period ends and a respondent has not opted out; if every respondent opts out, the second payment is never owed (CCB fees).

Do you need a registration to file?

You need at least a pending application. An infringement claim can go to the Board only after the owner has delivered a completed application, deposit and fee to the Copyright Office, and only if registration has been issued or has not been refused (17 U.S.C. 1505). The Board cannot decide the case until a certificate issues and the other side can address it, and a refusal ends the claim without prejudice. That is a real difference from federal court, where a U.S. work normally needs a completed registration before suit, as our page on copyright infringement damages explains.

How much can the Board award?

Much less than a court, by design. Total recovery in one proceeding is capped at $30,000, not counting fees awarded for bad faith conduct (1504(e)(1)(D)). Within that cap, an infringement claimant chooses actual damages and profits, or statutory damages determined under section 504(c), the provision federal courts apply, with lower ceilings:

• Works registered in time to qualify for statutory damages under section 412: up to $15,000 per work.
• Works not registered in time: up to $7,500 per work, and $15,000 in total for the proceeding.

That second line matters. In federal court, a registration that misses the timing in 17 U.S.C. 412 rules out statutory damages for that infringement, while the Board can still award them at the lower cap. On the other hand, the Board may not consider willfulness. The Board's own handbook cautions that without evidence of actual losses or profits, an award may land closer to the $750 floor than the cap (CCB Handbook, Damages).

Each side pays its own attorney's fees. The exception is bad faith: the Board then awards the other side reasonable costs and fees of up to $5,000, or up to $2,500 in costs to a party who represented itself, and more in extraordinary cases (1506(y)(2)). For claims of $5,000 or less, the claimant can choose a smaller claims track, decided by one Copyright Claims Officer with the same effect as a decision of the full Board (1506(z); CCB Handbook, Smaller Claims).

Can the other side refuse to take part?

Yes. Once served, a respondent has 60 days to opt out in writing, and it does not have to give a reason. If it opts out, the claim is dismissed without prejudice and you remain free to sue in federal court (1506(i); CCB Handbook, Opting Out). If it stays in, the proceeding becomes active and the respondent is bound by the result. The service notice must warn that staying in means giving up a federal court decision and a jury trial (1506(g)(1)). A respondent who neither opts out nor participates risks a default determination (CCB FAQ). In practice, it works when the other side prefers a capped, remote process to the risk of a federal case. If you are the one who was served, see our page on what to do after receiving a copyright infringement demand.

What can the Board not do?

• Order an infringer to end or change its conduct, unless the infringer agrees; an agreement is then written into the determination (1504(e)(2)).
• Award more than $30,000 in a proceeding, or increase damages for willfulness.
• Hear claims against respondents outside the United States or government entities.
• Require a witness to appear. Discovery is a short, limited exchange of written questions and documents.
• Set precedent. Determinations are public but do not bind later cases, and a decided claim cannot be refiled in federal court (CCB, About).

Who is the Board a good fit for?

It tends to suit an owner with a modest claim against a U.S. infringer, facts that can be shown with the owner's own documents, and a goal of being paid rather than obtaining a court order. A photographer whose image turns up on a small business website is a typical example. It fits less well when the infringer is overseas, when you need the use ended and the other side will not agree, when the case depends on witnesses or records you could get only by subpoena, or when the infringement is large enough that federal statutory damages and fees justify the cost of suit. Registering promptly keeps the higher damages ceilings available in either forum, one of the habits in our post Creative Smarts: 12 Smart Copyright Strategies, Part 2.

What changes the answer

• Whether you owned the right at the time. An infringement claim belongs to the legal or beneficial owner of the exclusive right when the infringement happened (1504(c)(1)). Commissioned work can complicate that, as our page on who owns a music video shows.
• One course of conduct. Several claims, claimants or respondents can share a proceeding only if they arise out of the same infringing activity, and the total still cannot pass the damages cap (1504(c)(6)).
• A court case already filed. A claim pending in or decided by a court cannot go to the Board unless the court stays it to allow that (1504(d)(2)).
• An agreement to stop. The Board may weigh a respondent's agreement to cease or reduce the infringing activity when it sets damages (1504(e)(1)(A)).
• When you choose the damages route. The election between actual damages and profits and statutory damages can be made at any time before the final determination (1504(e)(1)(B)).

A worked example

Common mistakes

• Filing against someone abroad. The Board cannot hear claims against a respondent residing outside the United States, and service can only be made here.
• Letting the 90-day service deadline pass. A claim against a respondent who has not been served may be dismissed.
• Counting on willfulness. The Board may not consider it, so a deliberate copier does not raise the ceiling the way it can in court.
• Bundling unrelated uses. Two different infringers doing two different things belong in separate proceedings.
• Skipping proof of loss. The Board's handbook warns that an award without evidence of actual harm or profits may land near the $750 minimum.

What to do this week

1. Confirm the registration, or file the application now; our page on copyright registration cost and timing lists the fees.
2. Find a United States address where the respondent can be served.
3. Save dated proof of the use, your license history and anything that shows sales or profits.
4. Add up a realistic recovery and compare it with the $30,000 cap and the per-work limits above.
5. Decide whether a demand letter should come first, using our post on cease and desist letters.
6. Open an eCCB account and draft the claim, then calendar the 90-day service deadline as soon as the notice to proceed arrives.

Frequently asked questions

Does filing with the Board stop the three-year clock?

Yes, for the same claim in federal court. A Board proceeding tolls the section 507(b) period while it is pending (1504(b)(2)), so an opt-out does not cost you the months the claim spent at the Board.

Can the respondent file a counterclaim?

Yes, but only against the claimant, and only if it arises out of the same transaction or occurrence, or under an agreement about it that could affect the relief (1504(c)(4)). Counterclaims are subject to the same damages limits.

Can the respondent argue fair use?

Yes. The Board can decide any legal or equitable defense available under the Copyright Act or other law (1504(c)(5)). Our post on legal ways to use copyrighted works explains fair use and the other common defenses.

What happens if the respondent ignores the claim?

If it does not opt out and then does not take part, the Board may enter a default determination, but not automatically. You still have to submit evidence supporting the claim and the damages, and the Board gives the respondent written notice and 30 days to oppose before it decides (CCB Proceeding Phases).

Is the Board a good forum for a song-copying claim?

It can hear one, but music similarity cases can depend on detailed musical analysis and the other side's records, and the Board cannot require a witness to appear. Our page on how courts decide song copying explains what has to be proved, which helps judge whether a short, paper-based process is enough.

Zala IP Law advises creators, songwriters, artists and entrepreneurs on infringement response across the United States. If you have a small claim and want a second look at the numbers before choosing a forum, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701.