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93-743: The Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (the CASE Act) is a United States law that establishes a small claims court –type system within the United States Copyright Office , known as the Copyright Claims Board (CCB), for copyright owners to seek damages under US$ 30,000 for copyright violations. The measure was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on May 1, 2019, and

186-415: A chilling effect on web content and wide-scale online blackouts were held in protest. Due to the backlash, SOPA was pulled from consideration, permitting copyright owners to seek only civil penalties against these sites. In announcing the bill, Senator Thom Tillis state that by 2020 these sites were taking away more than US$ 30 billion from copyright holders annually, justifying the need for closing

279-440: A lawyer . Rules are relaxed but still apply to some degree. In some jurisdictions, corporations must still be represented by a lawyer in small-claims court. Expensive court procedures such as interrogatories and depositions are usually not allowed in small-claims court, and practically all matters filed in small-claims court are set for trial . Under some court rules, should the defendant not show up at trial and not have requested

372-568: A Special Civil Court, as well as small claims involving landlords and some claims set by Article 275, II, of the Code of Civil Procedure. Special Criminal Courts, on the other hand, may process claims involving small criminal offences, which, under Article 60 of Law No. 9,099/1995 are those either set by the Contraventions Law (Decree No. 3,688/1941) or those where the penalty does not surpass 02 (two years). As per Article 54, there are no court fees for

465-493: A copyright office tribunal established outside of the judicial system will be unconstitutional, an opt-out system from this tribunal will open up unknowing parties to be blindsided with little recourse, and the tribunal's statutory limits allow for outrageously steep penalties. Other law experts stated that the larger copyright owners may target fair use and de minimis usages and coerce those using legal usage of copyrighted works to either stop using them or seek legal support for

558-543: A county or magistrate 's court. These courts can be found in Australia , Brazil , Canada , England and Wales , Hong Kong , Ireland , Israel , Greece , New Zealand , Philippines , Scotland , Singapore , South Africa , Nigeria and the United States . The jurisdiction of small-claims courts typically encompasses private disputes that do not involve large amounts of money. The routine collection of small debts forms

651-415: A court to allow people to represent themselves without legal counsel. In New York State , small claims courts were established in response to the 1958 findings of Governor Thomas E. Dewey 's Tweed Commission on the reorganization of the state judiciary. Since then, the movement towards small-claims courts has led to their establishment in most U.S. states. There is no equivalent to a small-claims court in

744-630: A decision at a later date). If the Court of First Instance refuses to grant leave to appeal, its decision is final and not susceptible to further appeal. The ex parte leave to appeal procedure means that the successful party in the Small Claims Tribunal only has to spend time and incur costs in resisting an appeal if the other party has been able to persuade the High Court Judge that he/she has an arguable ground of appeal. However, in some cases,

837-485: A discretion not to order that the unsuccessful respondent pay the costs incurred by the successful appellant in bringing the appeal if it would cause 'undue hardship' to the unsuccessful respondent and if the respondent had not put forward a claim or a defence in bad faith and had not misbehaved in conducting the proceedings in the Small Claims Tribunal. In principle, if the appeal is allowed, the Court of First Instance will remit

930-517: A fee of HK$ 61 within 7 working days of the Small Claim Tribunal's decision/order by showing that it involves a point of law that is arguable or exceeded the Tribunal's jurisdiction. When applying for leave to appeal, a party may be legally represented in the Court of First Instance . The leave to appeal application will be heard before a High Court Judge at an ex parte oral hearing, which

1023-445: A large portion of the cases brought to small-claims courts, as well as evictions and other disputes between landlords and tenants , unless the jurisdiction is already covered by a tenancy board. A small-claims court generally has a maximum monetary limit to the amount of judgments it can award, often in the thousands of dollars/pounds. By suing in a small-claims court, the plaintiff typically waives any right to claim more than

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1116-420: A lower cost without requiring or involving any adjudicative process. In Greece they are called "Ειρηνοδικεία" or "Πταισματοδικεία" (Justices of Peace or Small-Claims Courts). They have only one judge. Protecting Lawful Streaming Act Modern computer and information technology has sufficiently advanced, most notably around 2010, to allow streaming media to be an effective way of sharing video content on

1209-423: A party who loses in a small-claims court is entitled to a trial de novo in a court of more general jurisdiction and with more formal procedures. The rules of civil procedure , and sometimes of evidence , are typically altered and simplified to make the procedures economical. A usual guiding principle in these courts is that individuals ought to be able to conduct their own cases and represent themselves without

1302-537: A person must: a) be an advocate of the High Court of Kenya with three years of legal experience, or b) be trained as a paralegal at the Kenya School of Law. The court deals with civil cases provided for under section 12 which arise from: a) a contract for sale and supply of goods or services; (b) a contract relating to money held and received; (c) liability in tort in respect of loss or damage caused to any property or for

1395-474: A postponement, a default judgment may be entered in favour of the plaintiff. Trial by jury is seldom or never conducted in small-claims courts; it is typically excluded by the statute establishing the court. Similarly, equitable remedies such as injunctions , including protective orders, are seldom available from small-claims courts. Separate family courts may exist to hear simple cases in family law . For reasons having more to do with history than with

1488-520: A procedure for the speedy and inexpensive resolution of small claims. Situated at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building , the Small Claims Tribunal deals with monetary claims not exceeding HK$ 75,000. It has exclusive jurisdiction to deal with such claims. The Small Claims Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to deal with labour disputes, possession of land, alimony maintenance, libel/defamation claims and claims made by money lenders. As

1581-417: A provision allowing libraries and archives to preemptively opt out of all Copyright Claims Board proceedings before anyone files a claim against them. The CASE Act provides some mechanisms for review of CCB decisions. If a party believes a CCB has erred in its ruling, the party can request reconsideration of a CCB decision.  The CCB then reviews the decision for clear error.  If the request for review

1674-640: A separate small claims court. They are usually dealt with in the County Court after being allocated to the small claims track of the County Court system. Small claims take place under a modified set of rules. Low-value cases, including most non-personal-injury cases up to £10,000, are usually assigned to the small claims track, producing a small claims action in the County Court. These cases are heard by district judges under an informal procedure. An important difference between small claims and other civil claims

1767-766: A small claims matter, either the defendant or the claimant must be residing or doing business within the judicial division of the court. Similar to the UK, small-claims can be handled in Singapore through State Courts of Singapore . The rules and procedures differ for the different countries of the United Kingdom. While Britain was a member of the European Union, the European Small Claims Procedure for cross-border claims also applied. England and Wales does not have

1860-616: A state's judiciary structure. The Small Claim Courts that belong to a State's Judiciary are subdivided into two types of courts: the Special Civil Court ( Juizado Especial Cível , shortened as JEC) and the Special Criminal Court ( Juizado Especial Criminal , shortened as Jecrim). Under Article Three of Law No. 9,099/1995, Civil Claims involving an amount up to 40 (forty) monthly minimal wages or R$ 24,880.00 (October 2012), which correspond to roughly US$ 12,440.00, may be filed before

1953-603: A subordinate court as per Article 169(1) (d) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 and its geographical jurisdiction covers sub-counties or any other units of decentralization under the Constitution. Each Small Claims Court is presided over by an adjudicator appointed by the Judicial Service Commission. The Chief Justice can also designate any qualified person to act in as an adjudicator (section 6(1) and (2). To qualify under section 8 for appointment to be an adjudicator,

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2046-472: A superior court and cannot be determined in small-claims courts. A European Small Claims Procedure for cross-border claims under the Brussels regime as an alternative to national procedures was established on 1 January 2009, processing claims with values up to 2,000 EUR , increased to 5,000€ on 14 July 2017 and current as of 2021 The Small Claims Tribunal ( Chinese : 小額錢債審裁處) was established to provide

2139-403: A trial date. A party may apply to the Tribunal for adjournment of a hearing date. However, as the aim of the Small Claims Tribunal is to handle and dispose of disputes within a reasonable time, the Tribunal will generally only allow an application for adjournment if it is supported by a good reason and if it is a short adjournment. The Tribunal is expected to manage cases actively. Hearings in

2232-421: Is a lawyer, that employee is allowed to represent the corporation in the proceedings in the Small Claims Tribunal. A party may also apply to the Small Claims Tribunal for leave for another person (who is not a lawyer) to act as their representative in conducting the case. The claimant bears the burden of proof and has the primary responsibility to prepare and produce evidence in support of their case. However,

2325-410: Is a level playing field for all parties. However, a party is permitted to consult a lawyer for advice, including a lawyer who is present in the courtroom during the hearing as an observer, as long as the lawyer does not effectively conduct the case by giving directions to the party on steps to take during the hearing and questions to ask the witnesses. If a party is a corporation and one of its employees

2418-454: Is attended only by the party applying for leave to appeal and not the other party/parties. Instead of an oral hearing, regardless of whether the applicant is legally represented or acting in person, the High Court Judge may direct that the ex parte application for leave to appeal be determined by way of paper disposal (in which case, the applicant files written submissions and the Judge hands down

2511-484: Is available for larger, but still simple, claims. The small claims process allows certain types of claims not exceeding £3,000 to be decided informally by the County Court. In Scotland small claims are handled by a process called simple procedure, subject to a limit of £5,000. The movement to establish small-claims courts typically began in the early 1960s, when justice of the peace courts were increasingly seen as obsolete, and officials felt it desirable to have such

2604-612: Is denied, the party can seek review of the CCB’s decision with the Register of Copyrights for abuse of discretion.  If the Register of Copyrights finds no abuse of discretion, there are then some limited circumstances in which the party may then seek relief from the federal district court in the jurisdiction where the copyright infringement occurred. The party must demonstrate that the CCB decision resulted from fraud, corruption, or other misconduct, that

2697-463: Is eligible to be appointed as an Adjudicator or Deputy Adjudicator. In practice, a number of Permanent Magistrates are assigned to sit as Adjudicators in the Small Claims Tribunal. The fee to file a claim in the Small Claims Tribunal varies between HK$ 20 and HK$ 120 depending on the amount claimed. When a claim is filed at the Tribunal Registry, the claimant will be given Form 3 which states

2790-411: Is not bound to allow the appeal merely because there was a misdirection or improper admission or rejection of evidence by the Small Claims Tribunal, unless the Court is of the view that substantial wrong or miscarriage was thereby occasioned. If the appeal is allowed, and if the appellant is legally represented while the respondent acts in person as he/she cannot afford legal representation, the Court has

2883-505: Is required to give adequate reasons for the review decision. Regardless of whether the Adjudicator has conducted a review of the decision/order, a party may appeal to the Court of First Instance of the High Court against a decision/order of the Small Claims Tribunal. However, it is necessary first to apply for leave to appeal from the Court of First Instance by filing Form 9 and paying

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2976-454: Is that the parties are usually unable to recover their legal costs, regardless of who wins or loses. For this reason, most individuals and businesses involved in small claims deal with them without legal representation . The winning party will, however, generally be able to recover the following costs, fee and expenses from the losing party: The separate small claims procedure was first introduced for claims up to £75 in 1973. This flowed from

3069-565: The Chief Executive on the recommendation of the independent Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission (JORC). Cases may also be heard by Deputy Adjudicators ( Chinese : 暫委審裁官) appointed on a temporary basis by the Chief Justice . A person who has practised for at least 5 years as a barrister , advocate , solicitor or judicial officer in Hong Kong or another common law jurisdiction

3162-635: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act ). This Board is made up of three attorneys, two of which must be knowledgeable in copyright law. For works timely registered with the Copyright Office, the maximum statutory damages are US$ 15,000 per work and US$ 30,000 per claim, while unregistered copyrighted works are eligible for half those amounts. Attorney fees and costs are generally unavailable in CCB proceedings. However, cases of bad faith attorney fees and costs may be available up to $ 5,000 if

3255-636: The District Court when operating under its Small Claims Procedure court rules . The Courts of Conscience of boroughs in the Republic of Ireland were superseded under the Courts of Justice Act, 1924 by the District Court, which operates throughout the state. Small claims cases were processed in the same manner as other summary judgments of the District Court until 1991, when a separate "small claims procedure"

3348-783: The NAACP , AFL-CIO , the American Conservative Union , and the American Bar Association , as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , and thousands of independent creators and small businesses across the United States. Proponents of the bill support the Copyright Office’s findings that the small claims tribunal will provide a more financially accessible alternative to federal court, and will enable creators to protect their copyrighted material more effectively. Additionally,

3441-610: The Protecting Lawful Streaming Act introduced by Senator Thom Tillis that would make commercial streaming of certain types of copyrighted content qualify as a felony crime, were passed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 on December 21, 2020. Trump signed the bill into law on December 27, 2020. The Copyright Office issued its final ruling on how the CASE Act would be implemented under

3534-552: The Superior Court of California, Santa Clara provides guidelines for resolving disputes out of court. Both parties can agree on arbitration by a third party to settle their dispute outside of court . The Mayor's and City of London Court is the successor to the several medieval courts in the City of London , one being the Court of Conscience for recovery of small debts. This was a type of equity court . A similar Court of Conscience

3627-561: The federal court . (Note that Congress has set the jurisdictional minimum for diversity jurisdiction cases at greater than $ 75,000). Magistrate judges are authorized to handle certain preliminary matters. Since the year 2010, the costs of filing fees have increased in almost every state court system. Filing fees typically range from US$ 15 to $ 150, depending on the claim amount. The alternative to small claims court include less expensive, faster online dispute resolution and settlement services, where potential litigants settle their disputes at

3720-406: The Adjudicator is under a statutory obligation to inquire into any matter considered relevant to a claim, whether or not it has been raised by a party. The Adjudicator may therefore invite the parties to comment on matters or direct them to produce evidence or documents relating to matters considered to be important. As the Adjudicator has an 'active inquisitorial role', the adjudicator should direct

3813-436: The Adjudicator should not solely rely on the failure to call that witness to disbelieve a party's case. The Adjudicator may put questions to the parties and witnesses, and invite the parties to make submissions. However, the duty to inquire does not mean that the Adjudicator should take over the role of an adviser or advocate for a party, as the Adjudicator must remain neutral and impartial. Rules of evidence do not apply in

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3906-735: The CCB exceeded its authority, the CCB failed to reach a final judgment, or a default or failure to prosecute judgment was entered, resulting from excusable neglect by the party. On June 26, 2019, in a statement to the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary , U.S. Register of Copyrights Karyn A. Temple expressed the U.S. Copyright Office’s support for a small claims tribunal system. In her statement, she noted that “...low-dollar but still valuable copyrighted works are frequently infringed with impunity, and individual creators and small businesses often lacking [sic] an effective remedy... For this reason,

3999-607: The Claims Board would be able to determine whether use of a copyrighted work constitutes fair use. In response to criticism concerns, a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Intellectual Property on July 30, 2019, Register Temple said, “I am pleased to note that the legislation that was recently passed out of the full Senate Judiciary Committee contains several provisions to help address these concerns... These provisions, combined with

4092-587: The Copyright Office strongly supports a small claims tribunal structured along the lines of the proposal detailed in the Copyright Office’s 2013 report." The bipartisan legislation is also supported by groups such as the Copyright Alliance , Professional Photographers of America , American Society of Media Photographers , International Authors Forum , the Authors Guild the Graphic Artists Guild ,

4185-535: The DOJ with the authority to charge commercial enterprises that are streaming certain kinds of works with felony copyright infringement". Similar concerns were raised by an article in The American Prospect . The bill's intent raised concerns from tech companies and free speech advocates as it was not clear if this would also target individual users, including online streamers . Tillis assured those concerned that

4278-415: The High Court Judge may direct that the leave to appeal hearing take place inter partes (in the presence of all the parties, not just the applicant). If leave to appeal is granted, the appellant should file a Notice of Originating Motion and pay a fee of HK$ 1,045. All the parties (who may be legally represented) will then attend the appeal hearing before a High Court Judge. The Court of First Instance

4371-655: The House passed H.R. 2426 by a vote of 410-6. Fifteen Members of Congress did not vote. The six "no" votes were: Justin Amash (I-MI), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Greg Gianforte (R-MT), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Ralph Norman (R-SC). On September 12, 2019, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary approved the measure without amendment. The CASE Act, along with the Trademark Modernization Act and

4464-570: The Internet. This has led to a large amount of copyright infringement through unlawful redistribution, commonly referred to as "piracy". Piracy websites, typically running outside of United States jurisdiction, are created to share copyrighted films and television shows for free without consent of the copyright owners. U.S. Representative Lamar Smith in response to concerns from groups like the Motion Picture Association of America introduced

4557-476: The Judiciary held a legislative hearing on the 2017 version of bill on September 27, 2018. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced similar legislation on December 8, 2016, titled the Fairness for American Small Creators Act. The CASE Act of 2019 was introduced on May 1, 2019, in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 2426) by Representatives Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Doug Collins (R-GA); and for

4650-642: The Lagos State Small Claims Court. Five Courts were designated as Small Claims Courts and are located in Gwammaja, Gyadi-Gyadi, Nomansland and Dawakin Tofa. The small claims courts are presided over by magistrates who hear and determine cases on debt claims not exceeding five million Naira. It encompasses the routine collection of small debts, evictions and other disputes between landlords and tenants, as well as breach of contracts and simple torts. To institute

4743-513: The Small Claim Courts. However, if an appeal is filed, court fees shall be applied. All provinces have procedures for small claims in Canada. In general, there are two different models. In most provinces, including British Columbia, Alberta, and New Brunswick, small-claims courts operate independently of the superior courts. In other jurisdictions, the small-claims court is a branch or division of

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4836-410: The Small Claims Tribunal are conducted in an informal manner. Parties act in person and are not permitted to be legally represented . The rationale is that small claims should be resolved without incurring substantial expenses in retaining legal services and also that an unrepresented litigant should not fear the imbalance of power caused by a lawyer representing the other side. This ensures that there

4929-480: The Small Claims Tribunal does not have the power to grant injunctive relief , if a claimant seeks such relief, the case will be transferred to the District Court . The Chief Magistrate (currently Victor So Wai-tak) is the Court Leader of the Small Claims Tribunal and is responsible for the administration of the Tribunal. Cases in the Small Claims Tribunal are heard by Adjudicators ( Chinese : 審裁官) appointed by

5022-427: The Small Claims Tribunal, which may receive any evidence that it considers to be relevant. The Small Claims Tribunal will decide how to receive evidence based on considerations of proportionality, costs and common sense. A party may request discovery of documents from the other party if such documents exist, are/were in that party's possession, are relevant to the dispute and are necessary to obtain to deal fairly with

5115-481: The United States Code that would make operating these sites a criminal felony , with a maximum penalty of up to ten years imprisonment, and additional fines if convicted. This brings the act of offering such unauthorized streaming media at a large scale to the same scope of penalty as for offering illegal downloads or physical copies of the same content, closing the streaming media loophole. Tillis stated that

5208-422: The bill is tailored to specifically target the websites themselves, and not "those who may use the sites nor those individuals who access pirated streams or unwittingly stream unauthorized copies of copyrighted works". Tillis' office and the tech advocacy group Public Knowledge clarified that the bill was not aimed at video game live streamers on platforms like Twitch , or their viewers. Tillis, who serves as

5301-547: The bill was narrowly tailored towards commercial sites and would not criminalize individual users. He specifically stated that information in The American Prospect article was "false and inaccurate", and the bill was "drafted to not sweep in normal practices by online service providers and good faith business disputes". Tillis released the text of the bill to the public on December 10, 2020. Public Knowledge , who had raised concerns prior to this, said that after reviewing

5394-575: The bill's language that they consider the bill to be narrowly tailored and thanked Tillis for "working to prevent risk to end users and legitimate streamers and streaming platforms". The Computer & Communications Industry Association , which represents technology companies, also did not oppose the compromise language of the bill. The bill's bipartisan co-sponsors included Patrick Leahy , Marsha Blackburn , Mazie Hirono , Catherine Cortez Masto , John Cornyn , Richard Blumenthal , Chris Coons , Kelly Loeffler , and David Perdue . The bill, along with

5487-414: The case back to the Small Claims Tribunal for a re-trial if it is necessary to make new/further factual findings, even if the amount claimed is small. However, the Court of First Instance may decline to order a re-trial even if it considers that the Small Claims Tribunal made an error of law if it would be disproportionate bearing in mind the amount claimed. The "small claims court" is an informal name for

5580-403: The case until another date for a mention hearing. At the mention hearing, the Adjudicator will check if the parties have complied with the previous directions and may also give further directions in preparation for trial. The Adjudicator may also actively explore with parties if they are willing to settle. If a settlement cannot be reached and the case is ready for trial, the Adjudicator will fix

5673-574: The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property , first discussed the bill to be introduced with the CASE Act and the Trademark Modernization Act as part of a package to be included with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 on December 4, 2020, according to congressional aides that had spoken to the website Protocol . The text of Tillis' bill had not be available, but according to Protocol , it "would provide

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5766-554: The conduct is egregious. The Claims Board may not issue injunctions but can order a party to cease infringement if the parties agree. The process is voluntary; once a claim is filed, respondents have a sixty day period to opt-out . If the respondent does not opt out, the Claims Board will make a final determination and assessment of damages, if any. This method is not available to seek damages against infringement from federal or state governments or from foreign entities, nor for claims established in pending cases. The CASE Act also contains

5859-574: The copyright office, the board began hearing these claims in June 2022. Under federal law, copyright infringement cases must be pursued in federal courts. This can be an expensive and time-consuming option for small copyright owners, particularly for rightsholders of written and visual works. Infringements became more significant with the popularity of the Internet which made sharing material, including those that violated copyrighted, much easier. While considering

5952-410: The court can award. The plaintiff may or may not be allowed to reduce a claim to fit the requirements of this venue. 'Court shopping'—where a plaintiff reduces the damage claim amount to have a trial in a court that otherwise does not have jurisdiction—is strictly forbidden in some states . For example, if a plaintiff asserts damages of $ 30,000 in hopes of winning an award of $ 25,000 in small-claims court,

6045-422: The court dismisses the case because the court does not have jurisdiction to hear cases in which asserted damages exceed the court's maximum amount. Thus, even if the plaintiff is willing to accept less than the full amount, the case cannot be brought to small-claims court. To bring the case to small-claims court, the plaintiff must prove that actual damages are within the court's jurisdiction. In some jurisdictions,

6138-671: The courts coincided with the PEBEC and world bank motive to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria through seamless debt recovery court procedure. At the establishment ceremony, 15 magistrates courts across the five magisterial districts of Lagos were designated as small claims court. The five magisterial districts include Lagos Island, Ikeja, Yaba, Badagry and Ikorodu. The Kano State Judiciary followed in Lagos' steps and established its Small Claims Court on 24 January 2019 having similar jurisdiction as

6231-529: The date of the call-over hearing (which must take place no later than 60 days after the claim is filed). At the call-over hearing, the Tribunal Officer will interview both parties, identify the issues in dispute and explore if a settlement can be reached. If the dispute cannot be settled, the Tribunal Officer will give directions for the filing of further documents (defence, counterclaim, reply, witness statements, other supporting documents etc.) and will adjourn

6324-424: The decision/order, the Adjudicator may re-open and re-hear the claim wholly or in part, may call or hear fresh evidence, and may accordingly confirm, vary or reverse the decision/order. Parties wishing to adduce new evidence at the review stage are required to give cogent reasons explaining why such evidence had not been adduced at trial and show that such evidence is material/relevant to the dispute. The Adjudicator

6417-457: The delivery or recovery of movable property; (d) compensation for personal injuries; and (e) set-off and counterclaim under any contract. Though the court’s pecuniary jurisdiction is limited to KES 1,000,000 (approximately US$ 10,000), Section 12(4) gives the Chief Justice the power to review that limit to any amount he thinks fit via a Gazette notice. Small Claims court in Nigeria is similar to

6510-403: The dispute between the parties. The Small Claims Tribunal can receive hearsay evidence, but it should consider why the witness concerned is not called to give oral evidence and whether the hearsay evidence is credible. The Small Claims Tribunal has a discretion to award to the successful party any reasonable expenses necessarily incurred by and any loss of salary or wages suffered in attending

6603-467: The disputed amount does not exceed 5,000 euro (as of September 2018), except for the matters over which another court or tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction . In addition, the justices of the peace have original jurisdiction over a number of matters irrespective of the disputed amount, such as cases involving the renting or leasing of real estate , evictions , easement , land consolidation , consumer credit or unpaid utility bills . The justices of

6696-634: The extensive notice requirements and due process safeguards for respondents, would provide important safeguards against the use of the CCB by bad faith claimants.” Public interest groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Public Knowledge , and the Authors Alliance have opposed the bill, claiming that the CASE Act is still not enough to appropriately protect individuals from "sophisticated actors" (corporations, copyright "trolls" and similar abusers). These critics argue that

6789-731: The first time in the Senate (S. 1273) by Senators John Kennedy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI). Original House co-sponsors include: House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and House Committee on the Judiciary Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Hank Johnson (D-GA), as well as Martha Roby (R-AL), Judy Chu (D-CA), Ben Cline (R-VA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). On October 22, 2019,

6882-463: The hearings. The costs order is not meant to be punitive. The Adjudicator will give the decision orally or in writing at the end of the trial or as soon as possible thereafter. If the decision is delivered orally, the Adjudicator is required to reduce it to writing within 14 days. When reducing the oral decision in writing, the Adjudicator may expand on the oral decision by giving fuller written reasons for judgment as long as they are consistent with

6975-487: The higher courts. Small-claims court procedure is regulated both by provincial legislation and rules in most provinces. The small-claims procedure is simplified with no strict pleadings requirements and no formal discovery process, and parties' costs may be limited. Monetary limits for small-claims courts in Canada vary by province: In general, disputes involving title to land, slander , libel , bankruptcy , false imprisonment , or malicious prosecution must be handled in

7068-473: The law were issued in March 2022, with Copyright Claims Board available to hear cases starting June 16, 2022. Following the framework proposed by the Copyright Office, the CASE Act establishes a Copyright Claims Board within the Copyright Office. The Claims Board can decide copyright infringement claims filed by any copyright holder, declarations of non-infringement brought by users, and misrepresentation claims (under

7161-627: The loophole. The bill specifically targets commercial or for-profit websites that operate as "digital transmission service[s]", that primarily function to stream copyrighted material without authorization of the copyright holders. An example of one such website is NFLBite. The website provides its visitors with unauthorized sources that stream National Football League (NFL) games for free. The NFL has taken NFLBite to court through civil lawsuits in attempts to stop their streaming of full NFL games, but are unable to seek criminal charges due to limitations of U.S. copyright law. The bill adds to Title 18 of

7254-650: The matter of copyright protections for orphan works , the United States Congress recognized these challenges for smaller copyright owners in taking action to protect their own works. In March 2006, the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property held a hearing titled "Remedies for Small Claims Copyright", which concluded by instructing the United States Copyright Office to study potential solutions to

7347-514: The matter. The copyright office published a report in September 2013 on alternatives to federal litigation for copyright infringements claims. The copyright office proposed the idea of a small claims tribunal system that could be run by the Office for copyright owners seeking damages up to US$ 30,000 . Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) introduced the CASE Act in 2016 and 2017. The House Committee on

7440-512: The ones in the United States and England. They are specially designated courts that hear and determine debt recovery cases of a small and liquidated debt. The small claims courts were introduced in Lagos Nigeria in April 2018 by the former Chief Judge of Lagos State Justice Opeyemi Oke . It is not clear if it was a world bank initiative or as a Lagos State Judiciary reform as the time of establishing

7533-400: The original determination and factual findings. The Adjudicator is under a duty to analyse the material points in the evidence of the case and to give reasons as to why a particular conclusion or decision has been reached. The Adjudicator should explain their belief or disbelief in the evidence given by a witness. The Adjudicator should not give further written reasons to perfect or improve on

7626-425: The parties to produce specific documents/evidence if such documents/evidence would have a bearing on the legal analysis of the dispute. The Adjudicator is not under a duty to summon witnesses to fill in the gaps in the evidence/case put forward by a party, but if a witness who may be important has not been called by a party and the Adjudicator has not explained to the parties the potential significance of that witness,

7719-498: The peace ( Dutch : vredegerecht , French : justice de paix , German : friedensgericht ) function as the small claims courts in the country's judicial system ; they stand at the bottom of the Belgian judicial hierarchy and only handle civil cases. There is a justice of the peace in each judicial canton of Belgium , of which there are 187 in total as of 2017. The justices of the peace have original jurisdiction over cases in which

7812-716: The peace also have original jurisdiction in certain aspects of family law , most notably legal guardianships for incapacitated seniors, and the involuntary commitment of the mentally ill to psychiatric facilities . The judgments made by the justices of the peace can, with some exceptions, be appealed to the tribunals of first instance . Small claim courts in Brazil were established by Law No. 9,099/1995 and Article One of such law states that they shall be organized by both Federal Judiciary and State Judiciary. Therefore, there are Federal Small Claim Courts (single noun Juizado Especial Federal ), as well as Small Claim Courts that are part of

7905-458: The proposed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in 2011 which would have made it a criminal act to stream and share copyrighted material, granting the Department of Justice special powers to seize the domain(s) of sites suspected of infringing on SOPA. While supported by a number of entertainment and labor groups, SOPA was widely criticized by technology companies and free speech advocates for creating

7998-624: The sort of case typically heard by a small-claims court, most US states do not allow domestic relations disputes in small-claims court. Winning in small-claims court does not automatically ensure payment in recompense of a plaintiff's damages. This may be relatively easy, in the case of a dispute against an insured party, or extremely difficult, in the case of an uncooperative, transient, or indigent defendant. The judgment may be collected through wage garnishment and liens . Most courts encourage parties with disputes to seek alternative dispute resolution, if possible, before filing suit . For example,

8091-409: The statutory power of judges to order arbitration. The limit was raised to £1,000 in 1991, £3,000 in 1996, £5,000 in 1999 and £10,000 in 2013. The limit is only a guideline. The court may allocate a case to the small claim track where the claim is over the guideline if it is considered that the case is simple enough that it is an appropriate way of disposing of the matter. A Money Claim Online service

8184-908: The superior court. In Ontario, the Small-Claims Court is a branch of the Superior Court of Justice, and in Manitoba, the Small-Claims Court is under the jurisdiction of the Court of the King's Bench. Small-claims cases are heard by judges of the Provincial Court in British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan, by judges or deputy judges of the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario, and by Hearing Officers in Manitoba. Small-claims courts are meant to provide an easier and less expensive path to resolve disputes than

8277-756: The tribunal. Library Futures , which speaks on behalf of libraries, has critiqued that, though libraries and archives are protected, library workers are not. There was also criticism from those that supported small copyright creators, stating that the opt-out provision gives infringers too much power to reject the use of the Claims Court and force creators to use the federal courts to seek penalties. Small claims court Small-claims courts have limited jurisdiction to hear civil cases between private litigants . Courts authorized to try small claims may also have other judicial functions, and go by different names in different jurisdictions. For example, it may be known as

8370-401: The written reasons for decision which have already been given, in particular after one party has made an application to the Court of First Instance of the High Court for leave to appeal. After the Adjudicator has delivered the decision/order, a party may request within 7 days by filing Form 8C and paying a fee of HK$ 61 that the adjudicator review the decision. When conducting the review of

8463-522: Was established by charter in some ancient boroughs in Ireland ; this was emulated in others, without legal sanction until regularised by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 . Small claims are handled differently by each state and territory , with most relying on tribunals while others have a minor claims division of their respective magistrates court: In Belgium , the justices of

8556-462: Was first specified. The current District Court small claims procedure rules date from 2007, with amendments down to 2009. The European Small Claims Procedure is used where one party is in another EU member state. The Kenyan Small Claims Court was established in 2016 (formally launched on 26 April 2021 at Milimani Law Courts) under section 4 of the Small Claim Act No.2 of 2016. This court is

8649-537: Was passed on October 22, 2019. An identical version was introduced in the United States Senate on May 1, 2019. The CASE Act, along with two other IP-related bills, were included as part of a omnibus spending and COVID-19 relief bill in December 2020, which was passed by Congress on December 21, 2020. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on December 27, 2020. Following the rule-making process within

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