Student Projects:DMCA:Description

Project Description
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) has been heavily scrutinized by academics, researchers, the media, technologists, entertainment groups, and the general public since it was passed in 1998. In particular, section 1201 of the Act has been criticized as a threat to free speech, civil liberties, and an extreme restriction of and intrusion into academic research and development. In this balanced policy brief, we submit recommendations for changes to the law by comparing actual applications of the law with the Act's origins, statement, and intentions in an effort to drive policy regarding digital copyrights toward the public's interests.

Team Members

• Henry Mitchell
• Shaun Padden
• Amir Rahim
• Breese Stevens

Title/Topic
The Effectiveness of The Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998 In Serving Its Original Intent

Sub-Topics

• Historical origins/Motivation
  • Adapt the law to technological change
  • Clarify rights of copyright holders
  • Comply with World Intellectual Property Organization treaty
  • Five Major Sections (WIPO Treaty Implementation, Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation, Computer Maintenance or Repair, Miscellaneous Provisions, Protection of Certain Original Designs)
• Summary of the actual statement of the law
• Provisions for protection of works on the Internet
• The traditional concept of fair use and the DMCA's impact on fair use
  • DVD/DeCSS as an example, among others
• Concerns of the DMCA's effects on academics and research
• Digital Rights Management (DRM)
• International guidelines/jurisdictions and mechanisms to enforce them (if any?)
• Conclusions, Predictions and Recommendations

Sources

1. Arguments made in DVD-cracking case available @ http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-1011326.html
2. Actaual Statment of the DMCA available @ http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html
3. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 available @ http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf
4. Unintended Consequences:Five Years under the DMCA available @ http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/unintended_consequences.pdf
5. Arguments made in DVD-cracking case availabel @ http://news.com.com/2100-1025_3-1011326.html
6. O P E N L A W : OPEN DVD available @ http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/openlaw/DVD/
7. How Copyright Became Controversial by Drew Clark of National Journal’s Technology Daily @ http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/550000/543499/p10-clark.pdf?key1=543499&key2=2356889901&coll=Portal&dl=ACM&CFID=30972814&CFTOKEN=43196557
8. The DMCA Needs Fixing by Vir V. Phoha, Communications of the ACM

Team Organization

• Henry:
  • Seek sources stating the actual intent of the law, as opposed to the actual statement of the law.
  • For the major intents of the law, determine whether or not the DMCA has had the desired effect.
    • Curbing piracy: have piracy rates changed since the DMCA? Have any pirates been prosecuted under the DMCA?
  • Four Camps of thinking : Critics of the current state of copyright law, including all uses of the DMCA, and highlight its clash with free speech rights.
• Shaun:
  • Summary of the actual statement of the law
  • Provisions for protection of works on the Internet
  • Four Camps of thinking : Supporters of the DMCA's anti-circumvention language
• Amir:
  • International guidelines/jurisdictions
  • Historical origins/Motivation
  • DVD/DeCSS
  • Four Camps of thinking : Supporters of government-mandated DRM technologies
• Breese:
  • Is the DMCA too restrictive or is it a protector of rights of the inventors and creators in the online world?
  • Investigation into whether the DMCA will undermine the public's right to exercise fair uses of copyrighted works and its access to published information
  • Is the DMCA a threat to free speech?
  • How has the DMCA kept up with the ditigal age?
  • Four Camps of thinking : Those who emphasize the importance of copyright's "fair use" doctrine and criticize the DMCA for undermining it