CASE Act of 2019

II Calendar No. 266 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2426 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES OCTOBER 23, 2019 Received; read twice and placed on the calendar AN ACT To amend title 17, United States Code, to establish an alternative dispute resolution program for copyright small claims, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Copyright Alternative 4 in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘CASE 5 Act of 2019’’. 6 SEC. 2. COPYRIGHT SMALL CLAIMS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 17, United States Code, is 8 amended by adding at the end the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 HR 2426 PCS ‘‘CHAPTER 15—COPYRIGHT SMALL 1 CLAIMS 2 ‘‘Sec. ‘‘1501. Definitions. ‘‘1502. Copyright Claims Board. ‘‘1503. Authority and duties of the Copyright Claims Board. ‘‘1504. Nature of proceedings. ‘‘1505. Registration requirement. ‘‘1506. Conduct of proceedings. ‘‘1507. Effect of proceeding. ‘‘1508. Review and confirmation by district court. ‘‘1509. Relationship to other district court actions. ‘‘1510. Implementation by Copyright Office. ‘‘1511. Funding. ‘‘§ 1501. Definitions 3 ‘‘In this chapter— 4 ‘‘(1) the term ‘party’— 5 ‘‘(A) means a party; and 6 ‘‘(B) includes the attorney of a party, as 7 applicable; 8 ‘‘(2) the term ‘claimant’ means the real party 9 in interest that commences a proceeding before the 10 Copyright Claims Board under section 1506(e), pur- 11 suant to a permissible claim of infringement brought 12 under section 1504(c)(1), noninfringement brought 13 under section 1504(c)(2), or misrepresentation 14 brought under section 1504(c)(3); 15 ‘‘(3) the term ‘counterclaimant’ means a re- 16 spondent in a proceeding before the Copyright 17 Claims Board that— 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 HR 2426 PCS ‘‘(A) asserts a permissible counterclaim 1 under section 1504(c)(4) against the claimant 2 in the proceeding; and 3 ‘‘(B) is the real party in interest with re- 4 spect to the counterclaim described in subpara- 5 graph (A); and 6 ‘‘(4) the term ‘respondent’ means any person 7 against whom a proceeding is brought before the 8 Copyright Claims Board under section 1506(e), pur- 9 suant to a permissible claim of infringement brought 10 under section 1504(c)(1), noninfringement brought 11 under section 1504(c)(2), or misrepresentation 12 brought under section 1504(c)(3). 13 ‘‘§ 1502. Copyright Claims Board 14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Copy- 15 right Office the Copyright Claims Board, which shall serve 16 as an alternative forum in which parties may voluntarily 17 seek to resolve certain copyright claims regarding any cat- 18 egory of copyrighted work, as provided in this chapter. 19 ‘‘(b) OFFICERS AND STAFF.— 20 ‘‘(1) COPYRIGHT CLAIMS OFFICERS.—The Reg- 21 ister of Copyrights shall recommend three full-time 22 Copyright Claims Officers to serve on the Copyright 23 Claims Board in accordance with paragraph (3)(A). 24 The Officers shall be appointed by the Librarian of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 HR 2426 PCS Congress to such positions after consultation with 1 the Register of Copyrights. 2 ‘‘(2) COPYRIGHT CLAIMS ATTORNEYS.—The 3 Register of Copyrights shall hire not fewer than two 4 full-time Copyright Claims Attorneys to assist in the 5 administration of the Copyright Claims Board. 6 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.— 7 ‘‘(A) COPYRIGHT CLAIMS OFFICERS.— 8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each Copyright 9 Claims Officer shall be an attorney who 10 has not fewer than 7 years of legal experi- 11 ence. 12 ‘‘(ii) EXPERIENCE.—Two of the Copy- 13 right Claims Officers shall have— 14 ‘‘(I) substantial experience in the 15 evaluation, litigation, or adjudication 16 of copyright infringement claims; and 17 ‘‘(II) between those two Officers, 18 have represented or presided over a 19 diversity of copyright interests, includ- 20 ing those of both owners and users of 21 copyrighted works. 22 ‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLU- 23 TION.—The Copyright Claims Officer not 24 described in clause (ii) shall have substan- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 HR 2426 PCS tial familiarity with copyright law and ex- 1 perience in the field of alternative dispute 2 resolution, including the resolution of liti- 3 gation matters through that method of res- 4 olution. 5 ‘‘(B) COPYRIGHT CLAIMS ATTORNEYS.— 6 Each Copyright Claims Attorney shall be an at- 7 torney who has not fewer than 3 years of sub- 8 stantial experience in copyright law. 9 ‘‘(4) COMPENSATION.— 10 ‘‘(A) COPYRIGHT CLAIMS OFFICERS.— 11 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—In this subpara- 12 graph, the term ‘senior level employee of 13 the Federal Government’ means an em- 14 ployee, other than an employee in the Sen- 15 ior Executive Service, the position of whom 16 is classified above GS–15 of the General 17 Schedule. 18 ‘‘(ii) PAY RANGE.—Each Copyright 19 Claims Officer shall be compensated at a 20 rate of pay that is not less than the min- 21 imum, and not more than the maximum, 22 rate of pay payable for senior level employ- 23 ees of the Federal Government, including 24 locality pay, as applicable. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 HR 2426 PCS ‘‘(B) COPYRIGHT CLAIMS ATTORNEYS.— 1 Each Copyright Claims Attorney shall be com- 2 pensated at a rate of pay that is not more than 3 the maximum rate of pay payable for level 10 4 of GS–15 of the General Schedule, including lo- 5 cality pay, as applicable. 6 ‘‘(5) TERMS.— 7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 8 graph (B), a Copyright Claims Officer shall 9 serve for a renewable term of 6 years. 10 ‘‘(B) INITIAL TERMS.—The terms for the 11 first Copyright Claims Officers appointed under 12 this chapter shall be as follows: 13 ‘‘(i) The first such Copyright Claims 14 Officer appointed shall be appointed for a 15 term of 4 years. 16 ‘‘(ii) The second Copyright Claims Of- 17 ficer appointed shall be appointed for a 18 term of 5 years. 19 ‘‘(iii) The third Copyright Claims Of- 20 ficer appointed shall be appointed for a 21 term of 6 years. 22 ‘‘(6) VACANCIES AND INCAPACITY.— 23 ‘‘(A) VACANCY.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 HR 2426 PCS ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a vacancy oc- 1 curs in the position of a Copyright Claims 2 Officer, the Librarian of Congress shall, 3 upon the recommendation of and in con- 4 sultation with the Register of Copyrights, 5 act expeditiously to appoint a Copyright 6 Claims Officer for that position. 7 ‘‘(ii) VACANCY BEFORE EXPIRA- 8 TION.—An individual appointed to fill a 9 vacancy occurring before the expiration of 10 the term for which the predecessor of the 11 individual was appointed shall be appointed 12 to serve a 6-year term. 13 ‘‘(B) INCAPACITY.—If a Copyright Claims 14 Officer is temporarily unable to perform the du- 15 ties of the Officer, the Librarian of Congress 16 shall, upon recommendation of and in consulta- 17 tion with the Register of Copyrights, act expedi- 18 tiously to appoint an interim Copyright Claims 19 Officer to perform such duties during the pe- 20 riod of such incapacity. 21 ‘‘(7) SANCTION OR REMOVAL.—Subject to sec- 22 tion 1503(b), the Librarian of Congress may sanc- 23 tion or remove a Copyright Claims Officer. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 HR 2426 PCS ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Register 1 of Copyrights shall provide the Copyright Claims Of- 2 ficers and Copyright Claims Attorneys with nec- 3 essary administrative support, including techno- 4 logical facilities, to carry out the duties of the Offi- 5 cers and Attorneys under this chapter. 6 ‘‘(9) LOCATION OF COPYRIGHT CLAIMS 7 BOARD.—The offices and facilities of the Copyright 8 Claims Officers and Copyright Claims Attorneys 9 shall be located at the Copyright Office. 10 ‘‘§ 1503. Authority and duties of the Copyright Claims 11 Board 12 ‘‘(a) FUNCTIONS.— 13 ‘‘(1) COPYRIGHT CLAIMS OFFICERS.—Subject 14 to the provisions of this chapter and applicable regu- 15 lations, the functions of the Copyright Claims Offi- 16 cers shall be as follows: 17 ‘‘(A) To render determinations on the civil 18 copyright claims, counterclaims, and defenses 19 that may be brought before the Officers under 20 this chapter. 21 ‘‘(B) To ensure that claims, counterclaims, 22 and defenses are properly asserted and other- 23 wise appropriate for resolution by the Copyright 24 Claims Board. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 HR 2426 PCS ‘‘(C) To manage the proceedings before the 1 Officers and render rulings pertaining to the 2 consideration of claims, counterclaims, and de- 3 fenses, including with respect to scheduling, dis- 4 covery, evidentiary, and other matters. 5 ‘‘(D) To request, from participants and 6 nonparticipants in a proceeding, the production 7 of information and documents relevant to the 8 resolution of a claim, counterclaim, or defense. 9 ‘‘(E) To conduct hearings and conferences. 10 ‘‘(F) To facilitate the settlement by the 11 parties of claims and counterclaims. 12 ‘‘(G)(i) To award monetary relief; and 13 ‘‘(ii) to include in the determinations of 14 the Officers a requirement that certain activi- 15 ties under section 1504(e)(2) cease or be miti- 16 gated, if the party to undertake the applicable 17 measure has so agreed. 18 ‘‘(H) To provide information to the public 19 concerning the procedures and requirements of 20 the Copyright Claims Board. 21 ‘‘(I) To maintain records of the pro- 22 ceedings before the Officers, certify official 23 records of such proceedings as needed, and, as 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 HR 2426 PCS provided in section 1506(t), make the records 1 in such proceedings available to the public. 2 ‘‘(J) To carry out such other duties as are 3 set forth in this chapter. 4 ‘‘(K) When not engaged in performing the 5 duties of the Officers set forth in this chapter, 6 to perform such other duties as may be as- 7 signed by the Register of Copyrights. 8 ‘‘(2) COPYRIGHT CLAIMS ATTORNEYS.—Subject 9 to the provisions of this chapter and applicable regu- 10 lations, the functions of the Copyright Claims Attor- 11 neys shall be as follows: 12 ‘‘(A) To provide assistance to the Copy- 13 right Claims Officers in the administration of 14 the duties of those Officers under this chapter. 15 ‘‘(B) To provide assistance to members of 16 the public with respect to the procedures and 17 requirements of the Copyright Claims Board. 18 ‘‘(C) To provide information to potential 19 claimants contemplating bringing a permissible 20 action before the Copyright Claims Board about 21 obtaining a subpoena under section 512(h) for 22 the sole purpose of identifying a potential re- 23 spondent in such an action. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 HR 2426 PCS ‘‘(D) When not engaged in performing the 1 duties of the Attorneys set forth in this chapter, 2 to perform such other duties as may be as- 3 signed by the Register of Copyrights. 4 ‘‘(b) INDEPENDENCE IN DETERMINATIONS.— 5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Copyright Claims 6 Board shall render the determinations of the Board 7 in individual proceedings independently on the basis 8 of the records in the proceedings before it and in ac- 9 cordance with the provisions of this title, judicial 10 precedent, and applicable regulations of the Register 11 of Copyrights. 12 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Copyright Claims 13 Officers and Copyright Claims Attorneys— 14 ‘‘(A) may consult with the Register of 15 Copyrights on general issues of law; and 16 ‘‘(B) subject to section 1506(x), may not 17 consult with the Register of Copyrights with re- 18 spect to— 19 ‘‘(i) the facts of any particular matter 20 pending before the Officers and the Attor- 21 neys; or 22 ‘‘(ii) the application of law to the 23 facts described in clause (i). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 HR 2426 PCS ‘‘(3) PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS.—Notwith- 1 standing any other provision of law or any regula- 2 tion or policy of the Library of Congress or Register 3 of Copyrights, any performance appraisal of a Copy- 4 right Claims Officer or Copyright Claims Attorney 5 may not consider the substantive result of any indi- 6 vidual determination reached by the Copyright 7 Claims Board as a basis for appraisal except to the 8 extent that result may relate to any actual or alleged 9 violation of an ethical standard of conduct. 10 ‘‘(c) DIRECTION BY REGISTER.—Subject to sub- 11 section (b), the Copyright Claims Officers and Copyright 12 Claims Attorneys shall, in the administration of their du- 13 ties, be under the general direction of the Register of 14 Copyrights. 15 ‘‘(d) INCONSISTENT DUTIES BARRED.—A Copyright 16 Claims Officer or Copyright Claims Attorney may not un- 17 dertake any duty that conflicts with the duties of the Offi- 18 cer or Attorney in connection with the Copyright Claims 19 Board. 20 ‘‘(e) RECUSAL.—A Copyright Claims Officer or Copy- 21 right Claims Attorney shall recuse himself or herself from 22 participation in any proceeding with respect to which the 23 Copyright Claims Officer or Copyright Claims Attorney, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:01 Oct 23, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2426.PCS H2426 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 HR 2426 PCS as the case may be, has reason to believe that he or she 1 has a conflict of interest. 2 ‘‘(f) EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS.—Except as may 3 otherwise be permitted by applicable law, any party to a 4 proceeding before the Copyright Claims Board shall re- 5 frain from ex parte communications with the Copyright 6 Claims Officers [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]