What exactly is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (or DMCA, because that’s a lot to type out) is an addition to the existing Copyright Act of 1976, intended to deal with the rise of digital media and mass online proliferation. The 1976 act was, of course, never meant to deal with game changing technologies like DVDs, MP3s, and—gee golly!—modems. The ability to make a perfect digital copy of a movie or song and distribute thousands of copies online sent copyright holders (and, unfortunately, lawmakers) into a frenzy, with the DMCA being the reactionary end result. In short, the act makes bypassing DRM for your own personal or educational consumption—things that would normally be legally protected as fair use—illegal.
Related Questions
- Didn the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) criminalize the study of these kinds of technologies in the United States?
- Should researchers really be so worried about the much-reviled Digital Millennium Copyright Act?
- What is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and How Does it Pertain to Legal Forms?
