File a Copyright Claims Board claim for infringement

The CCB is the U.S. Copyright Office's small-claims board. It is built for infringement disputes that are too costly for federal court — generally up to $30,000 — with a more paper-based process.

Check if you can file How a CCB claim works

Educational information about the U.S. Copyright Claims Board, not legal advice and not a filing with the government. We are not the Copyright Office or the CCB. Outcomes are not guaranteed. The other side may opt out. Official filing is at ccb.gov.

Someone used your work

Photo, writing, design, music, video, or software copied or posted without permission.

Federal court is too much

You want a small-claims style path, not a years-long lawsuit.

You can identify the use

You have a URL, product, or other place the work appeared, and a sense of who posted it.

What you do here

Confirm the CCB is even a fit — registration status, damages range, and whether this is an infringement claim.

Send the facts: your work, where it was used, and what you want (stop the use, money, or both).

Get a filing checklist and, if you want help, a human review. You still file with the government at ccb.gov.

Before you file, you usually need

A U.S. Copyright Office registration of that work in your name (or your company's)
An infringement that occurred within the past 3 years
A dispute that can live inside the CCB's monetary cap ($30,000 per proceeding; a smaller $5,000 track also exists)
Enough facts to describe the work and the infringement
An understanding that the respondent can opt out of the CCB

Source: U.S. Copyright Office, copyright small claims.

Start the eligibility check