This article appeared in The Intellectual Property Strategist, an ALM/Law Journal Newsletters publication that provides a practical source of both business and litigation tactics in the fast-changing area of intellectual property law, including litigating IP rights, patent damages, venue and infringement issues, inter partes review, trademarks on social media – and more.

"There are no small roles, only small actors." — Konstantin Stanislavski

Paraphrasing the famous line from the father of modern acting technique, in establishing the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) on June 16, the Copyright Office effectively declared that there are no small copyrights, only small copyright infringement claims. Time will tell whether this new stage will serve as a well-respected and well-run forum for copyright owners, seeking redress (perhaps a summer "Shakespeare in the Park" to continue shamelessly flogging this analogy) or the legal equivalent of a cruise ship dinner theater. But regardless of the eventual reputation of the CCB, copyright holders and would now be well advised to familiarize themselves with this new forum for resolving copyright infringement claims and to consider its benefits and potential downsides in bringing or defending copyright infringement actions.