H.R.133 — 116th Congress (2020)
On December 27, 2020, President Donald Trump signed the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (H.R. 133), better known as
the Omnibus Spending and COVID-19 Relief bill, into law. The Act
incorporated trademark and copyright protection provisions,
including the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act
of 2020 (the "CASE Act") and the Protecting Lawful
Streaming Act of 2020, both of which are designed to increase
protections for copyright owners. These provisions are briefly
summarized below.
A. THE CASE ACT
The CASE Act creates a "small claims court" within the
U.S. Copyright Office to adjudicate certain copyright disputes. The
purpose of this Act is to provide copyright owners another avenue
for relief by establishing an alternative forum to federal court.
Before the passage of the CASE Act, federal courts had exclusive
jurisdiction over copyright disputes. However, bringing an
infringement action in federal court and