17 U.S.C. § 1507 — Effect of proceeding

(a) Determination. Subject to the reconsideration and review procedures in subsections (w) and (x) of section 1506 and section 1508(c), a final determination by the Copyright Claims Board in a proceeding—including a default determination or one based on failure to prosecute—prevents only the parties to that determination from relitigating before a court, tribunal, or the Board the claims and counterclaims that were asserted and finally decided by the Board. The determination may be used for that purpose in a later action or proceeding arising from the same specific activity or activities. (1) The determination does not prevent the same or different parties from litigating or relitigating the same or similar factual or legal issues before a court, tribunal, or the Board when the claims or counterclaims were not asserted or were not finally decided by the Board. (2) A determination of ownership of a copyrighted work made to resolve a matter before the Board may not be used and has no preclusive effect in another action or proceeding before a court, tribunal, or the Board. (3) Except as this subsection and section 1508 allow, a Board determination may not be cited or used as legal precedent in another action or proceeding before a court, tribunal, or the Board. (b) Class actions not affected. (1) In general. A Copyright Claims Board proceeding has no effect on a class-action proceeding in a United States district court, and section 1509(a) does not apply to such a class action. (2) Notice of class action. A party to an active Board proceeding who receives notice of a pending class action arising from the same transaction or occurrence, and in which the party is a class member, must either (A) opt out of the class action under regulations established by the Register of Copyrights; or (B) seek dismissal of the Board proceeding under section 1506(q)(3). (c) Other materials in proceeding. Except as this section and section 1508 allow, a submission or statement by a party or witness connected with a Board proceeding, including a dismissed proceeding, may not be cited or used in an action or proceeding about rights or limits on rights under this title before a court, tribunal, or the Board, and may not be the basis for such an action or proceeding. (d) Applicability of section 512(g). A claim or counterclaim before the Board brought under section 1504(c)(1) or (c)(4), or brought under section 1504(c)(6) and related to a claim under section 1504(c)(1) or (c)(4), qualifies as an action seeking an order to restrain a subscriber from infringing activity under section 512(g)(2)(C) if: (1) before the service provider replaces material after receiving a counter-notification under section 512(g), the claimant gives the provider's designated agent notice that the Board proceeding has begun; and (2) the claim alleges infringement of the material identified in the notice of claimed infringement under section 512(c)(1)(C). (e) Failure to assert counterclaim. Failing or being unable to assert a counterclaim in a Board proceeding does not prevent asserting it later in a court action or a later Board proceeding. (f) Opt-out or dismissal of party. If a party timely opts out under section 1506(i), or is dismissed before the Board issues a final determination, that determination does not bind the party and has no preclusive effect against the party.