Another answer to Lesley's question, from frequent MCN speaker Tyler
Ochoa, High Tech Law Institute
Santa Clara University School of Law:
(Is it because in the US copyright is Federal law, and you can't
pursue a Federal case in small claims court?)
That's correct. The default rule for federal laws in the U.S. is
concurrent jurisdiction; they may be enforced in either federal
court or state court. But for patent and copyright, there is a
statute that expressly provides for exclusive jurisdiction in
federal court, i.e., infringement suits may be brought ONLY in
federal court, not in state court. [Oddly, trademark is expressly
NOT exclusive; a federal trademark claim can be brought in either
federal or state court.]
The U.S. also has a provision for removal: if a party files a claim
in state court that COULD have been filed in federal court, the
defendants may remove the case from state court to federal court and
have it heard there.
Amalyah Keshet
Chair, MCN IP SIG
>Date: Tue, 04 Apr 2006 11:20:52 -0400
>From: Lesley Ellen Harris <[email protected]>
>Subject: Re: IP SIG: Small Claims Court for Copyright?
>Sender: [email protected]
>
>
>Why is special legislation needed for this? When I was practising
>law in Toronto many years ago, I helped a photographer client pursue
>a case in small claims court.
>
>Lesley
>
>Lesley Ellen Harris
>[email protected]
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Amalyah Keshet" <[email protected]>
>To: "Multiple recipients of mcn-l" <[email protected]>
>Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2006 8:58 AM
>Subject: IP SIG: Small Claims Court for Copyright?
>
>
>>This could be useful for museums, which never have the funds to
>>pursue copyright infringements (and therefore set no precedents
>>which might be useful down the line).
>>
>>----------------
>>
>>Small Copyright Claims . . .
>>By Stock Asylum Staff Report, March 30, 2006
>>http://www.stockasylum.com/text-pages/articles/a6sp032006-smallclaims.htm
>>
>>
>>"Asserting that photographers are "disenfranchised by the copyright
>>system" because they cannot afford expensive court proceedures to
>>protect their images, Victor Perlman told a congressional committee that
>>the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) would support
>>creation of a small claims copyright court or some other low-cost legal
>>procedure to help copyright owners protect their work."
>>*
>>Video of Hearing: Oversight Hearing on "Remedies for Small Copyright
>>Claims".
>>Wednesday 03/29/2006 - 2:00 PM
>>2141 Rayburn House Office Building
>>Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property
>>http://judiciary.house.gov/oversight.aspx?ID=226
>>
>>
>>(Thanks Olga Francois!)
>>
>>Amalyah Keshet
>>Head of Image Resources & Copyright Management
>>The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
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