Digital Millennium Copyright Act

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The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a copyright law passed in 1998 to amend Title 17 of the United States Code. Among its provisions are the criminalization of production and dissemination of information intended to circumvent copy protections that protect intellectual property, such as those considered digital rights management. It was later amended in 1998 to shield from liability ISPs that consumers may use to gain access to such information.

The law also provides that the Library of Congress issue exemptions from the prohibition when it is shown that access-control technology has had a substantial adverse effect on the ability of people to make non-infringing uses of copyrighted works. These exemptions are not granted in perpetuity. They are revised every 3 years all at once and existing exemptions must be resubmitted for the next rulemaking cycle alongside any new ones.

This law is one of the earliest to address the era of digital multimedia where previous law was deemed insufficient with the technology of the time period (even though its affect covers all digital information). Although the law is meant to supplement intellectual property rights, there are concerns that it comes into conflict with consumers' interests. This includes due to the specific text of the law, as well as its interpretation being used to attack activity by consumers that would otherwise be permitted. Concerns over Right to Repair, Fair Use, and an overall lack of useful paths to refute or redress accusations of violating the law remain.

Section 1201

Anti-Circumvention rule

The DMCA prohibits breaking any kind of digital lock that "effectively controls access" to a copyrighted material. Initially created under the premise of preventing internet piracy, critics have been apt to point out the ways that this legal restriction has been abused by corporations. Cory Doctorow argues that the rule prevents both competition and "the creation of legitimate, otherwise legal technologies."