The Copyright Claims Board is a three-officer tribunal inside the U.S. Copyright Office that handles copyright disputes worth up to $30,000 without the cost and formality of federal court. Participation is voluntary, so a respondent can opt out and keep the dispute in federal court instead. If both sides stay in, the process is designed for people who don’t have lawyers: streamlined filing, limited discovery, no depositions, and a low filing fee.
What Disputes the Board Can Hear
The board has authority over three kinds of claims. The most common is straightforward copyright infringement, where one party alleges another used protected work without permission. A party can also seek a declaration of noninfringement, which is useful when a rights holder has threatened suit but hasn’t filed and the accused party wants legal clarity. The third category is misrepresentation in DMCA takedown or counter-notices under 17 U.S.C. ยง 512(f), when someone knowingly sends a false infringement notice or falsely claims material was removed by mistake.
Respondents can bring counterclaims, but only those that share the same facts as the original claim and fit inside the damage cap. The board also allows one extra type of counterclaim: one based on a contract or licensing agreement, so long as the agreement relates to the same facts and could affect the damages the claimant is seeking. Trademarks, patents, and trade secrets are outside the board’s jurisdiction.
Who Cannot Use the Board
Several categories of parties and disputes are off-limits, and confirming these upfront saves the filing fee.
- Claims by or against federal or state government entities cannot be brought.
- You generally cannot file a claim against someone who lives outside the United States. If a foreign resident files first, though, the respondent can bring counterclaims.
- Qualifying libraries and archives can file a blanket opt-out covering all future proceedings. Check the published list at ccb.gov before filing.
- Claims against online service providers hosting user content only proceed if the provider received a valid DMCA takedown notice and failed to remove the material promptly.
- Disputes already decided by a court, or currently pending in one, cannot be brought unless the court has stayed its case for the board to proceed.
Damage Caps
The most the board can award in any proceeding is $30,000 total, across all claims and works. Inside that ceiling, statutory damages depend on when you registered the work with the Copyright Office.
- If you registered within three months of first publication, or before the infringement began, the cap is $15,000 per infringed work.
- If you registered later than that, the cap drops to $7,500 per work with a $15,000 ceiling for the whole proceeding.
You can pursue actual damages instead of statutory damages, meaning the real financial losses plus any profits the infringer earned. The $30,000 overall cap still applies. Federal court allows statutory damages up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement, so this venue trades a lower ceiling for a much cheaper and faster process.
Attorney fees are not routinely shifted to the losing side. They come into play only when a participant acts in bad faith during the proceeding, and even then the award is capped at $5,000 for represented parties and $2,500 for parties handling the case themselves. The board can exceed those limits for a demonstrated pattern of bad-faith behavior, and it can start a bad-faith inquiry on its own or at either party’s request.
How to File a Claim
You need either a completed copyright registration or a pending application before the board will accept your claim. If you haven’t registered, you can submit your application to the Copyright Office at the same time you file. Claimants with a pending application can request “small claims expedited registration” through the electronic filing system and pay the required fee to speed things up. If the Copyright Office ultimately refuses the registration, the board dismisses the claim without prejudice, so you can still bring it in federal court.
Before starting the electronic filing at ccb.gov, gather your registration or application number, the respondent’s legal name and a physical address where they can receive legal papers, a clear description of your original work, and evidence showing the unauthorized use. You’ll upload copies of both your work and the allegedly infringing material. The form includes a narrative section describing what happened, including dates and where the infringing use appeared, and the damages you’re seeking.
The initial filing fee is $40. If the claim passes the board’s compliance review, a second fee of $60 is due before the case moves forward. The $100 total applies whether you use the standard track or the smaller claims track.
Compliance Review, Service, and Opt-Out
After filing, a board attorney reviews the claim for legal sufficiency. If it passes, you receive an order to serve the respondent, and you have 90 days from that notice to complete service and file proof with the board. You cannot serve the papers yourself, so most claimants hire a private process server.
Once served, the respondent has 60 days to decide whether to participate. Opting out requires no reason. A timely opt-out means the board dismisses the case without prejudice, and the claimant can still file in federal court. Silence is not opt-out: if the respondent doesn’t file an opt-out notice within 60 days, they’re bound by whatever the board decides.
If the Respondent Goes Silent After Opting In
A respondent who fails to opt out but then stops participating faces a graduated default process. The board sends a first and second notice of default, giving 30 days from the first notice to catch up on missed deadlines. If the respondent still doesn’t respond, the board issues a proposed default determination with preliminary findings and a damage award based on the claimant’s evidence. The respondent has another 30 days to submit evidence or argument against it. If no response comes, the board issues a final default determination, which is enforceable in federal court. The respondent may also be ordered to pay the claimant’s reasonable expenses for the court order. The board can skip the warning steps if a respondent has a pattern of re-engaging briefly to avoid default, then disappearing.
The Smaller Claims Track
For disputes worth $5,000 or less, there’s an even more streamlined path. Claimants choose it when filing, and the choice generally can’t be changed later unless all parties agree and the board approves. Any counterclaim in a smaller claims case is also capped at $5,000.
A single Copyright Claims Officer handles the entire case rather than all three. Discovery only happens if the officer decides it’s necessary, must be narrowly focused, and cannot create an undue burden. Expert witness testimony is not allowed. The case runs through an initial conference to discuss claims and defenses, then a merits conference where the officer questions the parties and any witnesses. The officer issues proposed findings of fact, gives both sides 21 days to respond in writing, and then issues a final determination.
Discovery in Standard Proceedings
Even on the standard track, discovery looks nothing like federal litigation. Depositions are not permitted, which removes one of the most expensive parts of traditional copyright cases. The board uses a standard set of written questions and a standard document production list. Both sides answer those questions and search their records for responsive documents.
Anything beyond that standard set has to clear a high bar: additional discovery must target specific information relevant to core issues, be likely to produce useful evidence, and not impose an unreasonable burden. Requests for admission are disfavored and require good cause.
Challenging a Determination
A final board determination carries the force of a court judgment, but three mechanisms exist for challenging one.
Reconsideration by the Board
Either party can ask the board to reconsider within 30 days of the final determination. There’s no fee. The request must identify a clear error of law or fact that mattered to the outcome. New evidence generally isn’t allowed unless clear and convincing proof shows it wasn’t available despite reasonable diligence. The other side has 30 days to respond, and the board decides on the papers. It either denies the request or issues an amended determination.
Review by the Register of Copyrights
If reconsideration is denied, you can escalate to the Register of Copyrights within 30 days of that denial. This step costs $300. You have to show the board abused its discretion in denying reconsideration, meaning the board had no reasonable basis for its decision. The Register reviews only that narrow question. No new evidence is allowed. The Register either denies the request or sends the case back with instructions to reconsider specific issues. A respondent who defaulted and ignored a proposed default determination cannot use this path.
Federal Court Challenge
You can also ask a federal district court to vacate, modify, or correct a determination. The application must be filed within 90 days of the final determination, the denial of reconsideration, or the Register’s denial of review, whichever comes last. The court can intervene only on limited grounds: fraud, corruption, or misconduct in the proceeding; the board exceeded its authority; the board failed to issue a final determination on the subject matter; or a default resulted from excusable neglect. You can file in the District of Columbia or any other appropriate federal district court.
Collecting an Award
The board cannot enforce its own determinations. If the losing party doesn’t pay voluntarily, the prevailing party has to apply to a federal district court to confirm the award and convert it into an enforceable judgment. You have one year after the final determination, the resolution of any reconsideration or Register review, or any amended determination, whichever is later.
You’ll need a certified copy of the determination, which you can request through eCCB for $15 per copy. The board issues certified copies within 10 business days of payment. The federal court will confirm the award and enter judgment unless the determination has already been vacated. When it does, the court must order the non-complying party to pay the prevailing party’s reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, for obtaining the court order. That fee shift gives losing parties a real reason to pay voluntarily rather than force the winner into another round of court.