The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) seeks to prevent copying by 1) prohibiting individuals from breaking digital locks used to protect copyrighted works; and 2) prohibiting anybody from manufacturing or selling any device or service that would permit the breaking of digital locks. These sections of the DMCA are called the “anti-circumvention” provisions. It also contains provisions that exempt Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from being held liable for their customers’ infringement if they satisfy certain conditions.
These provisions prohibit circumvention of technological protection measures (TPM’s) such as encryption technology used by copyright owners to control access to their digital works. Only devices authorized to read these TPMs will be able to access the content. For example, I will not be able to play a DVD designed to work on a Windows platform on a Linux platform. Although the law allows circumvention of TPMs that prevent copying of digital works, it prohibits trafficking in technology that can circumvent any TPMs whether employed to control access or to prevent copying.
The anti-circumvention provisions make no distinction based on whether the use is lawful or not. Therefore, one cannot break a TPM for fair use or to access a work in the public domain. The DMCA contains very narrow exceptions to its anti-circumvention provisions. These include exemptions for law enforcement, browsing by libraries, archives and schools to make purchasing decisions, and reverse engineering for achieving interoperability.
The DMCA eliminates ISP liability for infringement by customers if the ISP removes the allegedly infringing material. The ISP must provide the copyright owner with contact information of the alleged infringers. The Act sets forth a relatively simple way for copyright owners to notify the ISP that it is hosting a site containing infringing content. The ISP has five days to remove the infringed material and may replace it if the accused infringer claims it does not infringe and provides its address and other information, so the accuser can deal directly with the accused.