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Copyright Blog

Syracuse Responds and the CASE Act Marches On

University Gives Its Response to Infringement Claim

On June 5th 2019, Syracuse University ("Syracuse") submitted an answer to the complaint from photographer James Bass. As previously reported, in May 2019, Bass brought suit against Syracuse alleging copyright infringement of his photographs of the Syracuse basketball team (the "Photos"). Bass claims he licensed the Photos to Syracuse for use only on social media. However, Bass asserts Syracuse committed copyright infringement by exceeding the scope of the license and using the Photos on billboards, tickets, and programs.

In its answer, Syracuse raised a number of affirmative defenses including that Bass’s claims are barred because the Photos were licensed and that Bass suffered no damages.

In other updates, we previously reported on the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act (the "Act"). The Act proposes creating a small claims arbitration tribunal within the US Copyright Office to address relatively small copyright disputes ($30K total damages cap).

In mid-July 2019, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to move the Act to the full Senate for a vote. On September 10, 2019, the House Judiciary Committee voted to send the Act to the full House for a vote, which means the Act will now be presented to both chambers for a full vote.

Electronic Fronter Foundation has been critical of the Act, and recently reiterated concerns over passage of the Act in its current form. According to Billboard, industry insiders are hopeful the Act will come up for a vote prior to Congress' October recess.