The Case Act: Send a letter to Senator Cory Gardner
Senator Cory Gardner
Colorado Chapter
United States Senate
Fax: (202) 224-6524
RE: S. 1273, The CASE Act
November 26, 2019
Dear Senator Gardner,
The Colorado Chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) comprises xx professional photographers across our state. We are small business owners that depend upon copyright as a means to protect our products from theft and unauthorized use—infringement.
We ask that you cosponsor the CASE Act, S. 1273.
Federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction over copyright. But federal litigation is so expensive that many professional photographers, and others such as authors, artists, playwrights and song writers simply cannot afford to defend their rights when someone infringes their valuable copyrighted works, their “product.” The individual value of our works is often too low to justify the expense of litigation. Most intellectual property attorneys won’t even consider taking these small cases.
Therefore, these infringements regularly go unchallenged, leaving our members disenfranchised by the copyright system. In effect, we rights but no useful remedies.
The CASE Act will create an effective forum for our members to seek restitution for copyright infringement. It will serve as a “small claims court” for copyright infringement cases, in which the majority of actions could be heard. The CASE Act would create a much less formal, streamlined process than now exists in federal court by
1) Creating a three “judge” tribunal within the Copyright Office to handle small copyright claims and cap damages,
2) Allowing for statutory damages of up to $15,000 per work and no more than $30,000 in total damages, and
3) Tribunal hearings would largely be done electronically, removing the need to travel to Washington DC to pursue a case.
You can support your constituent professional photographers by cosponsoring and voting for S. 1273, The Case Act.
Sincerely,
Paul Weinrauch
Paul Weinrauch, President
American Society of Media Photographers-Colorado Chapter
