Unlocking Technology Act of 2013

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The Unlocking Technology Act of 2013 was a proposed bipartisan law which would have modified Section 1201 of the DMCA to only restrict breaking digital locks for the sake of copyright infringement. It died in committee.

Background

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) Section 1201 was a law passed which was intended to prevent copyright infringement by making it illegal to break a digital lock (meaning bypass software restrictions put on a smart device). Companies have been making their devices smart partially to use this law to prevent people from modifying their products.

The Unlocking Technology Act of 2013

Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced this bill to allow people to break digital locks on devices they purchased as long as it was not intended for copyright infringement. If passed, this law would have allowed for jailbreaking, servicing vehicles, ripping CDs, and more. The bill was assigned to the Ways and Means Committee on May 8, 2013. That committee had done nothing on the bill by December 18, 2013, so it was reassigned to the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet subcommittee, which also did nothing with it.