No Lawyer? No Problem
The CCB is made for everyone — you don’t need a law degree. You can bring your case with or without a lawyer. It’s designed to be user-friendly.
All Online and Easy
Everything is handled online. There’s no courthouse, no in-person hearings, and the process is way simpler than federal court.
You Choose to Join
No one can force you into it. If someone files a claim against you, you can opt out. If you file a claim, the other side has to agree to participate.
Only Certain Cases Allowed
The CCB only handles three types of copyright issues: infringement, non-infringement declarations, and false DMCA takedown notices.
Counterclaims Must Be Related
If the other side files a counterclaim, it must be about the same copyright and situation as your original claim.
Experts Decide the Outcome
Three officers with deep knowledge of copyright law handle each case. They’re not judges, but they know their stuff.
Damage Limit: $30,000
You can’t ask for more than $30,000 in total. This makes the process simpler and cheaper than a full-blown lawsuit.
Bad Behavior Gets Penalized
If someone acts in bad faith — like filing fake claims — they can be fined or banned for a year. The CCB takes fairness seriously.
There’s a Claim Limit
You can’t flood the system. There’s a cap on how many claims a person can file each year.
CCB Decisions Aren’t Precedent
Each case stands alone. CCB decisions don’t influence future cases or federal court decisions.
One Shot Only
If your case is decided by the CCB, you can’t bring the same case to federal court later.
Not Many Appeal Options
You can ask the CCB to fix obvious errors. You can also appeal to the Register of Copyrights or — in rare cases — go to federal court.
The Copyright Claims Board (CCB) is built for regular people — you don’t need a lawyer to participate. The whole process is done online and skips the time, stress, and cost of federal court. It’s totally up to you whether you want to use the CCB or not. If you’re involved in a claim, you can choose to opt out, and the other side might decide to go to court instead.
Only certain copyright cases are allowed at the CCB: copyright infringement, false takedown notices under the DMCA, or getting a ruling that something isn’t infringement. Any counterclaim must be closely tied to the original issue. The folks who decide these cases are three copyright pros who understand the ins and outs of the law.
There’s a cap on how much money can be awarded — up to $30,000 max. That keeps things focused and fair. And if anyone misuses the process, the CCB can make them pay fees or even ban them for a while. You can’t file unlimited claims either — there’s a yearly limit.
Decisions from the CCB don’t set rules for future cases and won’t carry over to federal court. Also, once a case is decided by the CCB, it can’t be filed again in federal court. If you think a mistake was made in the decision, you can ask for a correction or appeal in limited ways, but there aren’t as many options as you’d have with a regular court case.