The Copyright Claims Board: What a Business Should Do With a CCB Notice or a Small Copyright Claim

Last updated: November 2026. Reviewed by Pavel Kolmogorov, California business litigation attorney (State Bar No. 321018).

The Copyright Claims Board is a three-officer tribunal inside the United States Copyright Office that decides copyright disputes worth up to $30,000. Taking part is voluntary. A California business served with a Board notice has 60 days from service to opt out in writing. If it does nothing, the case goes forward without a court or a jury, and the result binds the company. (17 U.S.C. §§ 1504, 1506.) Kolmogorov Law, P.C., a business litigation firm in Irvine, advises companies on that choice and on the dispute that follows.

Call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online to discuss a Board notice before the opt-out period runs.

What the Copyright Claims Board is

Congress created the Board as an alternative forum where parties may voluntarily resolve certain copyright claims. It has three full-time Copyright Claims Officers. (17 U.S.C. § 1502.) People call it the copyright small claims court, though it is not a court.

The Board hears three kinds of claims. One is infringement. Another is a request for a declaration that a use does not infringe. The third is a claim that someone knowingly misrepresented the facts in a takedown notice or a counter-notice. (17 U.S.C. § 1504(c).) Our page on false takedown claims covers that last kind.

Proceedings run on written submissions and on hearings and conferences held over the internet. A party may have an attorney but does not need one. (17 U.S.C. § 1506(c), (d).)

The dollar limits

Statutory damages may not exceed $15,000 for each work that was registered in time. For a work registered late, the cap is $7,500 per work and $15,000 in one proceeding. No party may recover more than $30,000 in a single proceeding, not counting fees and costs. The Board also may not consider willfulness in awarding statutory damages. (17 U.S.C. § 1504(e)(1).)

Compare federal court. There the ordinary range is $750 to $30,000 per work, and up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement. (17 U.S.C. § 504(c).) Our page on copyright statutory damages covers that range.

Each side normally pays its own attorney's fees and costs before the Board. Bad faith conduct is the exception. An award for it is generally limited to $5,000, or to $2,500 in costs for a party without a lawyer. (17 U.S.C. §§ 1504(e)(3), 1506(y)(2).)

The 60-day opt-out after a Board notice

The claimant, not the Board, serves the notice and the claim. The Board then sends a second notice of its own. (17 U.S.C. § 1506(g), (h).)

A respondent has 60 days, beginning on the date of service, to give the Board written notice that it opts out. If it does, the proceeding is dismissed without prejudice. If it does not, the proceeding becomes active and the respondent is bound by the result. The Board may extend the period only in exceptional circumstances. (17 U.S.C. § 1506(i).)

A regulation sets the mechanics. An opt-out is made on the Board's online form or its paper form, and it must include the confirmation code that comes with the notice. An online opt-out must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the last day. A paper one must be postmarked, dispatched by a carrier, or hand-delivered by the deadline. A last day on a weekend or federal holiday moves to the next federal workday. Each respondent opts out separately. (37 C.F.R. § 223.1.)

Opting out does not end the dispute, because the claimant can still sue in federal court. The federal three-year deadline is tolled while the Board proceeding is pending. (17 U.S.C. § 1504(b)(2).)

What happens if the company does nothing

After the 60 days, the case proceeds. If the respondent still does not take part, the Board may enter a default determination. It must first review the claimant's evidence and send the respondent a proposed determination, with 30 days to respond. (17 U.S.C. § 1506(u).)

A final determination, including one entered by default, bars the parties from relitigating the same claims in court. (17 U.S.C. § 1507(a).) If the award goes unpaid, the claimant may ask a federal district court to reduce it to a judgment within one year after the final determination or any later reconsideration or review. A court may set aside a default determination for excusable neglect, but only on a request made within 90 days after the determination or any review by the Register of Copyrights. (17 U.S.C. § 1508(a), (c).)

Stay in or opt out

No single answer fits every notice. A respondent with real exposure may prefer the Board. The total is capped, statutory damages ignore willfulness, and discovery is limited to documents and written questions unless the Board allows more. (17 U.S.C. § 1506(n).)

A respondent with a strong defense may prefer a court. License, ownership, and fair use defenses can be raised before the Board, but review afterward is narrow. A district court may vacate or modify a determination on three grounds only. They are fraud or similar misconduct, a Board that exceeded its authority or failed to render a final determination on the subject at issue, and a default or failure to prosecute caused by excusable neglect. (17 U.S.C. § 1508(c).) A court may also award a reasonable attorney's fee to the prevailing party. (17 U.S.C. § 505.)

Before choosing, we read the claim the way a court would: who owns the work, when it was registered, and what license the company had. Our page on responding to a copyright demand letter walks through those checks.

If your business has a modest claim of its own

A company whose photographs, text, or designs were copied can file with the Board in place of a federal lawsuit, within four limits.

• Timing. The proceeding must be commenced within three years after the claim accrued. (17 U.S.C. § 1504(b)(1).)
• Registration. The owner must first deliver a completed application, a deposit, and the fee to the Copyright Office, and registration must not have been refused. (17 U.S.C. § 1505(a).) Federal court is stricter, as our page on registration before a lawsuit explains.
• The respondent. The Board cannot decide a claim against a person or entity residing outside the United States, unless that party started the Board proceeding. In most cases it also cannot decide a claim already pending in court. (17 U.S.C. § 1504(d).)
• The opt-out. The other side can end the proceeding by opting out.

Federal court remains the forum when the claim is worth more than the Board's caps or, with that exception, when the infringer resides abroad. The same is true when the goal is an order to stop the copying. The Board can require a party to stop only if that party agrees. (17 U.S.C. § 1504(d)(4), (e)(1), (e)(2).)

What to bring to the first meeting

• The Board notice, the claim, and the date and manner of service.
• The work at issue as it appeared in your business, with dates.
• Any license, stock subscription, or vendor contract that covers the work.
• Earlier letters or emails from the claimant.
• For a claim of your own: the registration or application, and proof of the copying.

Frequently asked questions

We received a notice from the Copyright Claims Board. Do we have to respond, and should we opt out?

You are not required to take part, but you must act. A California business has 60 days from service to opt out in writing under 17 U.S.C. § 1506(i). Opting out sends the claimant to federal court if it wants to continue. Staying in caps the total at $30,000. Which is better depends on the strength of the defense and the size of the exposure.

What is the Copyright Claims Board?

It is a tribunal of three Copyright Claims Officers in the United States Copyright Office, created as a voluntary alternative to federal court for smaller copyright disputes. It can decide infringement claims, requests for a declaration of noninfringement, and takedown misrepresentation claims. California businesses appear before it remotely, with or without counsel.

How much can the Copyright Claims Board award?

No more than $30,000 to one party in a single proceeding, not counting fees and costs. Statutory damages are capped at $15,000 per timely registered work, and at $7,500 per work for late registrations. The Board may not consider willfulness in awarding them. A California company sued in federal court faces a higher ceiling: up to $150,000 per work for willful infringement.

What happens if we miss the CCB opt-out deadline?

The proceeding becomes active, and a California respondent is bound by the Board's determination. The Board may extend the 60-day period only in exceptional circumstances and in the interests of justice. A company that then stays silent risks a default determination, which a federal district court can reduce to a judgment.

If our company opts out of a Copyright Claims Board case, can the photographer still sue us in federal court?

Yes. An opt-out leads to dismissal without prejudice, so the claim itself survives, and the claimant may sue a California business in federal district court. Federal law tolls the three-year limitations period during the time the Board proceeding was pending.

Talk to a California copyright litigation attorney

If a Board notice has arrived, or you are weighing the Board against a lawsuit, call (909) 235-6116 or contact us online. Kolmogorov Law, P.C. is located in Irvine, California, and takes matters in the federal courts in California. See our intellectual property litigation page for related disputes.

This page provides general information about federal copyright law as it applies to California businesses and is not legal advice. Outcomes depend on the work, the registration, the facts, and the forum.