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Lobbying for Small Claims in D.C. This Week
The Authors Guild went to Washington this week to lobby for the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement (CASE) Act, H.R. 2426 and S. 1273. These companion bills will create a streamlined, efficient, and enforceable alternative to federal litigation for creators to enforce their copyrights. Executive Director Mary Rasenberger, accompanied by the Guild's lobbyist Marla Grossman, met with over a dozen Congress members' offices to seek additional bipartisan cosponsors of the bills in both the House and the Senate. During the two full days of meetings, four more sponsors were added to the bills and several other Congressional members' offices indicated they would very likely support the legislation. Representatives from the American Society of Media Photographers, the American Bar Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association joined the Guild for certain meetings.
While on the Hill, Mary met with Congressman Jeffries, the original sponsor of the CASE Act, and presented in person the Authors Guild Foundation Award for Exceptional Advocacy to the Literary Community, which was awarded to Jeffries in absentia at our annual gala benefit last week. Rep. Jeffries was not able to attend the gala as Congress was in session, but sent a video thanking the Guild for the honor and voicing his support for authors and other creators.
We will keep you posted on our progress toward the creation of a small claims copyright court.