Proposed Copyright Changes For Small Court Claims

As a photographer for the past 30+ years I have followed the copyright laws with more than a casual interest. In most cases the photographer owns the copyright to their images at the time of creation. Unfortunately there has been an increase in images being stolen for profit. Even some of the major stock image companies have been caught knowingly or unknowingly selling stolen images. For the small studios and freelancers copyright enforcement has been moot though. The cost of taking someone to court over a copyright claim far exceeds the projected income recovery.

This could all change in the United States of America though with the introduction of H.R.2426 and S.1273, also known as the CASE Act. This bill was introduced in May of this year. It will allow for small claims courts to be used to recover damages up to $3,000. This bill if passed could significantly lower the cost of artists protecting their copyrights. That is good news for those who are making a living through their art. How does this impact the consumers of say photography? It means that there will be a higher risk of getting sued for using images off the internet without a copyright release. I seriously doubt that there will be a flood of lawsuits if or when this passes, but over time there will be an increase.

For me I doubt that it will change the way I approach my photography in any significant way. At least for the foreseeable future it will not.