AIPLA Comments on Remedies for Small Copyright Claims

AIPLA applauds efforts by Congress and the Copyright Office to ensure that copyright owners of all kinds–large and small–have the ability to effectively protect their rights in their works.

Any copyright owner facing infringement must weigh a number of legal and practical considerations in deciding whether to enforce his or her rights in court. Such considerations include the rightsholder’s need for judicial relief, the economic damages suffered and the amounts available for recovery, the likelihood of prevailing on the merits of a claim, and the cost and amount of time required to pursue litigation.

It is appropriate for policymakers to consider whether existing law strikes the proper balance among these and other factors and whether reforms are needed to ensure that copyright owners are reasonably able to protect their rights.

It is crucial that any legislation that may be proposed concerning small copyright claims do no harm to copyright owners and legitimate users of copyrighted works. The Copyright Office and Congress should work to ensure that any proposed reforms not shift the balance among the above-mentioned factors too far one way or another with harmful results–for example, by encouraging frivolous claims that both copyright owners and legitimate users of copyrighted works would have to defend against at undue expense. AIPLA welcomes the opportunity to consider and comment further on any substantive legislative proposals and their potential implications for the copyright owner and user communities.