Small claims copyright infringement possible

The U.S. Copyright Office is considering adding a small-claims remedy for copyright infringement.

Currently, any copyright infringement claim has to be filed in federal court where the fees can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The winning party does not automatically get awarded legal fees and, even if they do, the defendant may not be able to pay. So there is no practical court remedy for small claims.

“For those infringements that are discovered, most will never be prosecutedbecause it is economically unfeasible for the creators to commence an action in federalcourt.”
— NPPA attorneys Mickey Osterreicher and Alicia Wagner Calzada, January 16, 2012

The U.S. Copyright Office is considering creating a system to adjudicate copyright infringements when the damages are low, also called Remedies for Small Copyright Claims. The NPPA and other photography organizations have submitted comments to represent the interests of photographers.

Source: NPPA Blog.