Posted on 07/28/2019 2:18:26 PM PDT by ransomnote
A bi-partisan bill working its way through Congress could drastically change how copyright claims are processed, and would create a system to impose up to $30,000 in fines on anyone who shares protected material online.
In other words, the Congress wants to make it easier to sue people who send a meme or post images that they didn’t create themselves, essentially a giveaway to lawyers who sue unsuspecting suckers for a living.
The Senate Judiciary Committee last week approved the “Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019,” which “creates a voluntary small claims board within the Copyright Office that will provide copyright owners with an alternative to the expensive process of bringing copyright claims, including infringement and misrepresentation …. in federal court,” according to the Copyright Alliance.
“This new board, called the Copyright Claims Board (CCB), would allow recovery in each case of up to $30,000 in damages total, with a cap of $15,000 in statutory damages per work infringed,” according to the alliance, an advocacy group for the copyright industry.
Critics contend the CCB created would essentially provide a way for copyright trolls to target individuals or small businesses to secure five-figure default judgements for innocent mistakes. Put another way, someone who shares memes they didn’t make could be on the hook for $30,000 in fines from folks who make a living from copyright lawsuits.
A petition on ActionNetwork.org opposing the CASE Act explains:
Have you ever shared a meme that you didn’t make? Or downloaded a photo you saw on social media? If Congress has its way you could soon get slapped with a $15,000 fine by copyright trolls – with no chance of appeal – just for doing normal stuff on the internet.
These trolls buy up copyrights with the sole intent of sending out mass threats and lawsuits to harvest settlements. Now, a dangerous new bill called the Copyright Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement Act is sailing through Congress to make it easier for everyone from trolls to Hollywood producers to sue you. …
In recent years, federal courts have made it easier for regular people to defend themselves from frivolous lawsuits by trolls. But the CASE Act would create a separate, industry-friendly system for copyright claims to $30,000, with no option of appeal.
Yeah, sure.
I hereby copyright A-Z, and a-z, and 1-9 and 0, inclusive!
And !@#$%^&*()_+:”<>?~.
So I should win, right?
And stupid laws and lawyers will continue to debase this country with laws that are an affront to every free person in this country, and they will do it unabated because we do NOTHING!
With all respects to the recently departed Ross Perot the real giant sucking sound has always been from the worse than unproductive being factually counterproductive legal community.
Sounds like the end of Free Repbublic. We will be the first target.
For some reason this doesn’t sound very citizen friendly, and smells more like the USSR!!
> with no option of appeal <
Huh? One of the foundations of the American judicial system is the right to appeal. Please Mr. Trump, veto this garbage.
BY THE SENATE? I figured it would be from the idiot congressrats! But not the senate!! Jeez you’d think they would be more concerned about the conservative censorship across the net instead of memes...WTH!!!
Feelsbadman
Sorry, pal. I have already copyrighted the - symbol. And you used it three times without my permission. Kindly forward to me $45,000 ($15,000 x 3). And a cashier’s check only, please.
So there would be nothing left of “public domain” materials? What if I make up a meme, fully intend for it to go viral, don’t want to make a dime off of it, and DON’T copyright it? The gubmint will make $30,000 every time it is copied?
First I’ve heard of this. Wouldn’t this conflict in many cases with Fair Use?
Probably have Fresno on the test target.
And a cashier’s check only, please.
= = =
OK, but if I use any of my letters or symbols, you can’t show it to the bank, without MY permission.
The solution is quite simple. Shut down the Internet.
I mean if the goal is to stop the flow of information, don’t just take a half step, take a full stride and shut it all down.
> OK, but if I use any of my letters or symbols, you can’t show it to the bank, without MY permission. <
LOL. And that’s exactly where this new legislation is going. Your expensive lawyers are going to have to duke it out with my expensive lawyers. And the poor saps who can’t afford expensive lawyers, too bad for them. Those saps will just have to pay up.
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