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posted by martyb on Wednesday November 06 2019, @07:04AM   Printer-friendly
from the is-it-like-Judge-Judy? dept.

On October 22nd, H.R. 2426 passed the House, as the EFF explains:

The House of Representatives has just voted in favor of the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act) by 410-6 (with 16 members not voting), moving forward a bill that Congress has had no hearings and no debates on so far this session. That means that there has been no public consideration of the serious harm the bill could do to regular Internet users and their expression online.

The CASE Act creates a new body in the Copyright Office which will receive copyright complaints, notify the person being sued, and then decide if money is owed and how much. This new Copyright Claims Board will be able to fine people up to $30,000 per proceeding. Worse, if you get one of these notices (maybe an email, maybe a letter—the law actually does not specify) and accidentally ignore it, you're on the hook for the money with a very limited ability to appeal. $30,000 could bankrupt or otherwise ruin the lives of many Americans.

The CASE Act also has bad changes to copyright rules, would let sophisticated bad actors get away with trolling and infringement, and might even be unconstitutional. It fails to help the artists it's supposed to serve and will put a lot of people at risk.

The EFF also criticized the bill in a previous article, pointing out its potential for abuse.

The president of the American Bar Association wrote in support of the bill:

While the CASE Act will provide more cost-effective protection for plaintiffs, copyright defendants will also benefit from the proposed legislation. Currently, defendants can be burdened with significant legal costs and drawn out suits, even where their use is a fair use or otherwise lawful. Participation in a small claims proceeding would cap their damages and likely provide a faster resolution of the dispute.

Participation in the program would be entirely voluntary, and parties could proceed with or without attorneys. Proceedings could be held through phone or videoconferences. Lawyers well-versed in copyright and alternative dispute resolution would decide the claims.


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  • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday November 06 2019, @02:59PM (6 children)

    by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Wednesday November 06 2019, @02:59PM (#916812) Journal

    Depends on how it's actually phrased. If it is a 'court', yeah, gone. But there is long precedent to allow administrative agencies to adjudicate matters and allow for administrative fines and penalties to be applied. The key being that there is still the option for judicial oversight of the claim. I'm not sure that a regulatory branch can get away clean with default judgments from failure to respond or not; I'd hope that would be a court's purview.

    So it gets shot down as unconstitutional, and the next cycle instead of an offshoot of the copyright board they'll use the precedent of Tax Court to establish a judicial Copyright Court. Then we're boned.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Wednesday November 06 2019, @04:14PM (5 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Wednesday November 06 2019, @04:14PM (#916842) Journal

    Then we're boned.

    Not if we vote them out. Nobody is going to save us. We are on our own.

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    • (Score: 2) by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us on Wednesday November 06 2019, @08:02PM (4 children)

      by All Your Lawn Are Belong To Us (6553) on Wednesday November 06 2019, @08:02PM (#916962) Journal

      The trick there is that there has to be someone to vote in as well who's worthy. But I fear all we will have are choices between lizards.

      --
      This sig for rent.
      • (Score: 3, Interesting) by fustakrakich on Wednesday November 06 2019, @08:36PM (3 children)

        by fustakrakich (6150) on Wednesday November 06 2019, @08:36PM (#916987) Journal

        I posted in another thread that we need to hunt down qualified people ourselves and put them under the Sword of Damocles, like jury duty. People that want the job are rarely, if ever, qualified.

        Whatever, the outcome, lizards or otherwise, is always determined by the voters.

        --
        La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
        • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday November 07 2019, @02:53AM (2 children)

          by Reziac (2489) on Thursday November 07 2019, @02:53AM (#917122) Homepage

          As someone elsewhere pointed out: "We voted our way into this mess. What makes you think we can vote our way out of it?"

          --
          And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
          • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Thursday November 07 2019, @04:43AM (1 child)

            by fustakrakich (6150) on Thursday November 07 2019, @04:43AM (#917172) Journal

            Not saying we can, but it is the only option available under the present system.

            --
            La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
            • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday November 07 2019, @04:54AM

              by Reziac (2489) on Thursday November 07 2019, @04:54AM (#917181) Homepage

              So it is... absent revolution, a measure which usually results in markedly worse-than-before.

              So, I grit my teeth and vote.

              --
              And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.