The Copyright Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 was signed into law Dec. 27. The CASE Act fulfills the longstanding goal of the U.S. Copyright Office to establish a small claims court. The measure tasks the office with establishing the Copyright Claims Board and adopting governing regulations in the next year. Damages will be capped at $15,000 per work and $30,000 total per case, with modest attorneys fees available in cases of bad faith. Defendants will also be given 60 days to opt out of an action before the tribunal.

How will all this work in practice? Nobody can be absolutely sure until the regulations are adopted and the board starts hearing cases. But Berger Singerman partner Geoffrey Lottenberg foresees a quick path for addressing ongoing infringement by hard-to-reach defendants. We caught up with the Fort Lauderdale-based Lottenberg for his take earlier this week. This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

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