Responding to Copyright Claims Board (CCB) Notices

The NC State University Libraries can offer information to faculty, staff, students, and scholars who might one day find themselves in receipt of a notice that a Copyright Claims Board ("CCB") action has been filed against them.

In 2020, Congress passed a law called the “Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020,” known as the “CASE Act.” The CASE Act mandated the formation of the CCB, a tribunal operating through the U.S. Copyright Office instead of the federal judicial branch, for the purpose of deciding small claims copyright infringement actions via a quicker, less expensive process—that is, without all of the procedural requirements of a normal federal court case. Damages are capped at $30,000 for CCB cases.

The U.S. Copyright Office is still creating the rules that implement this new law, so the information on this page will evolve. As with all information from the Open Knowledge Center, we cannot provide you with legal advice. However, we can help you understand how the law works. If you have further questions, please contact Will Cross.

If you receive a claim notice

What does a claim notice look like?

If you live in North Carolina, then a genuine CCB claim notice is required to be “served” to you either in person (i.e., handed to you), by U.S. mail, or by email.

A genuine CCB claim notice will include a docket number and other information yet to be determined. It will also include the CCB website, where you can enter your docket number and find more information about the particular claim filed against you.

What does it mean?

A claim filed against you in the CCB means that a purported copyright owner is asserting that you have infringed their copyright through something you have uploaded, reproduced, published, created, distributed, performed, or displayed.

The notice you receive signifies that the claimant has alleged copyright infringement, but the notice does not mean you have actually infringed or that the CCB will ultimately determine you have infringed. 

There are many reasons why your use of a copyrighted work may not be an infringement. For instance, there are key exceptions to copyright law that support teaching, scholarship, and research—most notably, fair use. These exceptions provide complete defenses to claims of infringement or, in some instances, permit a significant reduction of damages.

Further, not everything is actually protected by copyright. Claimants may believe they hold copyright in materials that are not subject to copyright (e.g., because the materials reflect only facts or ideas) or are no longer protected by copyright (e.g., because the copyright in the materials has expired). Claimants may also believe that they hold copyright to materials for which copyright is actually held by a third party. 

If you believe one of these situations applies to you—that is, that your use of the material is protected by an exception or that the allegations in the claim are not valid—you may wish to dispute the claim or opt out of the CCB proceeding entirely, both of which are explained below. Regardless, we recommend you seek legal counsel as soon as possible after receipt of a CCB claim notice.

What are your options?

If you receive a genuine CCB claim notice (as described above), do not ignore it. If you ignore it and do nothing, the case will proceed in the CCB, and a default judgment can be entered against you. This means that the CCB can enter a judgment holding you responsible for all the damages claimed in the notice (up to $30,000), regardless of whether the assertions are true or whether you could have claimed any defenses.

To avoid a default judgment, you will need to respond in the time prescribed by the notice. You can choose to respond in one of two ways:

• Proceed within the CCB tribunal. If you proceed, the case will be heard by the CCB. The CCB predicts that most cases will be handled completely online, so you will not need to travel to Washington D.C. (where the U.S. Copyright Office is physically located). You will be bound by the CCB’s decision. If the claimant wins, you may have to pay up to $15,000 for each infringed work, with a maximum cap of $30,000. CCB determinations are final. There are only limited circumstances—such as fraud, corruption, and misrepresentation—when a CCB determination can be reviewed by a federal court or the Copyright Office.
• Opt out of the CCB proceeding. This means that the claimant can either stop pursuing the matter entirely or decide to file suit against you in federal court (assuming they meet all of the federal court filing requirements). If you opt out, the copyright claimant cannot restart the same claim against you in front of the CCB. Federal court is more expensive and complex than the CCB’s small claims process, so many small claimants may not want to incur the expense or may feel that their allegations will not survive scrutiny in federal court. Additionally, NC State employees likely have broader protections in federal court than in the CCB, so a timely opt-out may be a good option. 

If you decide to opt out, you must mail the paper opt-out form provided with your claim notice, or complete an online opt-out form on the CCB website, within 60 days of service.

Your decision to opt out applies only to that particular claim you received. As an individual (as opposed to certain organizations), you cannot opt out prospectively from all future CCB claims.

If you’re an NC State employee, you should contact the NC State Office of General Counsel so they can help evaluate the best legal strategy for handling the claim.

Where can you get help or more information?

If you’re an NC State student, staff, or faculty member, and the claim is related to what you do at NC State, contact the NC State Office of General Counsel promptly. If you are a student and you receive a CCB claim notice, you should contact Student Legal Services.

The Libraries' Open Knowledge Center can also answer questions about how the law works but cannot dispense legal advice to you. You can contact Will Cross with questions.

The U.S. Copyright Office provides additional information on its Copyright Claims Board Frequently Asked Questions page.