CASE Act will help you fight infringement of your copyrights – affordably
by Preshias Harris
As a songwriter, imagine this nightmare situation: You are watching TV and a commercial comes on with a music track that sounds familiar. Very familiar. Hey, wait a minute! They’re using part of your song! But do you really have the resources to hire a legal team and the time to fight a lengthy and costly battle against a multinational corporation in federal court? That’s just one scenario where you, as a creator, might feel helpless in protecting your copyrights and holding on to your intellectual property.
Copyright Alliance is urging the creative community (including songwriters and independent music publishers) to support pending legislation that would create a copyright small claims court for creators. In many cases, individuals and small businesses have reason to believe their intellectual property copyrights have been violated but feel powerless to act because of the high cost of legal action associated with a claim in federal court. The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act) of 2019 has been introduced in both the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2426) and the Senate (S. 1273).
Create affordable Creators’ Small Claims Court
As Copyright Alliance noted in the July edition of Creative Insider, this important legislation would create a copyright small claims court that will make it easier and more affordable for creators to legally protect intellectual property (such as song lyrics and musical compositions) from infringement and misuse. However, passage of the CASE Act is by no means a ‘done deal,’ and needs the active support of creators to convince legislators that this is an urgent and serious matter. As a songwriter or musician, this is an issue that affects you, your rights and your income.
Please contact your congressional representatives in the House and Senate to let them know you support the CASE Act, and that you want them to show their support by co-sponsoring the bill. You can reach them by going here. Click on ‘Urge your Congressional Representatives to support H.R. 2426 and S. 1273, the CASE Act.’ Then scroll to the bottom of the page to input your name, address and zip code.
CASE Act needs your action
This is an important issue for all creators and has already received bipartisan support in the House and the Senate. However, as Copyright Alliance points out:
“To get the CASE Act passed into law by the end of the congressional session (which concludes at the end of 2020), we need many more representatives and senators as co-sponsors. And the best way to accomplish this goal is for you to urge them to co-sponsor this critical legislation. Join the tens of thousands of fellow creators and supporters of the creative community by contacting your congressional representatives and urging their support for the CASE Act today.”
To find out more about Copyright Alliance and issues relating to copyright matters of importance to songwriters and other creators, visit their website.
To join Copyright Alliance (there’s no charge) and receive their monthly newsletter, Creative Insider, visit the ‘Join the Alliance’ page.
Preshias Harris is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available at www.collegeofsongology.com Follow her blog at www.nashvillemusicline.com