Digital Information Copyright Law
The import of Digital Information Copyright Law is summed up in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which was signed into law in the U.S. on Oct. 28, 1998. The DMCA has been supported by the software and entertainment industries, and opposed by scientists, librarians and academics, says the UCLA Institute for Cyberspace and Law Policy. This legislation works in harmony with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in addressing copyright infringement concerns on a global scale.
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Basics
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The DMCA includes protections and deems certain uses of intellectual property criminal. For instance, the DMCA outlaws bypassing anti-piracy features in commercial computer software and the manufacturing, selling or distributing of code-cracking mechanisms for illegally copying software. Internet service providers (ISPs) are protected from copyright infringement liability in their transmitting copyrighted information. However, they must remove web site material characteristic of copyright infringement. Further, "webcasters" must pay licensing fees to record companies if transmitting copyrighted content.
Usage
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Regarding the copying of copyrighted materials, Stanford University lists a set of guidelines that helps determine what constitutes a copyright infringement. Any copying of published material must be seen in the context of four factors: the nature and intent of use; the nature of the copyrighted work itself; the amount of the material copied; and the effect that using the material will have on its relative commercial market.
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Factors
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Regarding the first factor, if the copied material is used for teaching at a nonprofit institution and is distributed freely and independently, it is likely fair use. The second factor makes a distinction between published work coming from an individual author or artist and work that is more general, such as an educational workbook, which would be fair use. The third factor notes that extracts or samples of work "not substantial in length" when compared to the whole may be fair use. The fourth factor recognizes that any copying disruptive to the normal market would be an infringement. However, a market disruption is not necessarily required for an infringement.
Considerations
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While contributing towards slowing piracy in an age of digital technology, some have observed unfavorable consequences resulting from the DMCA. For example, Fred Von Lohman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published a 2010 report about these unintended consequences, which include stifling free expression and scientific research, threatening fair use rights, hindering competition and innovation and interfering with computer intrusion laws. The crux of these unintended results comes mainly from the "anti-circumvention" provisions established by the DMCA, cites Von Lohman.
Opposition
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Anti-DMCA groups have formed, including an array of civil liberties groups, claiming that the DMCA is unconstitutional. A famous case cited among them is that of the Russian computer-programmer Dmitry Sklyarov, who was arrested in the U.S. for sidestepping an anti-piracy feature in Adobe's Acrobat program for the purpose of sharing educational works.
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References
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