UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
IN RE BRONNER v. ESSAYZOO No. 24-mc-117 (TSC)
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Petitioner Ben Bronner is a faculty member at George Washington University. In February
2022, he ran a student essay through a plagiarism detection software, which flagged that the
student’s work shared text with a pre-written essay available for purchase on EssayZoo’s website.
Upon checking EssayZoo’s website, Bronner noticed that it contained some of his copyrighted
material, prompting Bronner to file a claim against EssayZoo with the Copyright Claims Board.
In November 2023, the Board issued a Final Default Determination finding EssayZoo liable for
copyright infringement and awarding Bronner $1,200 in statutory damages. See Certified Final
Determination of the Copyright Claims Board, ECF No. 9-2. In August 2024, Bronner filed a
Motion with this court under 17 U.S.C. § 1508(a), seeking an order confirming and reducing to
judgment the relief awarded to him by the Copyright Claims Board. See Mot. for Order to Confirm
and Reduce to J., ECF No. 1. For the following reasons, the court will GRANT Bronner’s Motion.
Under 17 U.S.C. § 1508(a), if “a party has failed to pay damages . . . awarded in a final
determination of the Copyright Claims Board, including a default determination . . . , the aggrieved
party may, not later than 1 year after the date on which the final determination is issued . . . , apply
to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia . . . for an order confirming the
relief awarded in the final determination and reducing such award to judgment.” To obtain such
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an order, the aggrieved party must also (1) provide notice of their application to the opposing party
“in accordance with the procedures applicable to service of a motion in the district court . . . where
the application is made,” and (2) provide a certified copy of the final determination of the
Copyright Claims Board, alongside a sworn declaration meeting certain criteria. 17 U.S.C.
§ 1508(b). If these requirements are met, the “court shall grant such order and direct entry of
judgment unless the determination [of the Copyright Claims Board] is or has been vacated,
modified, or corrected[.]” Id. § 1508(a). The court also “shall impose on the party who failed to
pay damages . . . , the reasonable expenses required to secure such order.” Id.
Bronner has satisfied these requirements. Within a year of the Board’s final determination,
he filed a Motion for an order to confirm and reduce to judgment the Board’s determination. He
effected service of his Motion consistent with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5 and Local Civil
Rule 5.4(d)(2) by mailing the Motion and a copy of the Copyright Claims Board’s final
determination to EssayZoo’s “last known address.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b)(2)(C); see also Aff. of
Mailing, ECF No. 7. Although that mailing was returned undeliverable, “service is deemed
complete at the moment the document is properly posted and deposited for mailing.” Virgin
Islands Housing & Fin. Auth. v. FEMA, 728 F. Supp. 3d 17, 26 (D.D.C. 2024) (quoting
Nwachukwu v. Karl, 223 F. Supp. 2d 60, 72 (D.D.C. 2002)).
Bronner has also submitted to the court a certified copy of the final determination of the
Copyright Claims Board, along with a declaration attesting that the copy is true and correct; that
the determination was issued on November 20, 2023; that the determination has not been
challenged, vacated, modified, or corrected; that there are no other proceedings concerning the
Board’s same determination; and that he has not received any portion of the damages awarded to
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him by the Board. See Decl. of Benjamin Bronner, ECF No. 9-1. The court will therefore enter
judgment in Bronner’s favor. The court will also impose on EssayZoo the $52 filing cost incurred
by Bronner. See 17 U.S.C. § 1508(a) (“[T]he court shall impose on a party who failed to pay
damages . . . the reasonable expenses required to secure such order . . . that were incurred by the
aggrieved party.”). A separate Order will follow this Opinion.
Date: July 2, 2026
Tanya S. Chutkan
TANYA S. CHUTKAN
United States District Judge
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