Digital Millennium Copyright Act

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Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Great Seal of the United States
Long titleTo amend title 17, United States Code, to implement the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty and Performances and Phonograms Treaty, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)DM, DMCA
Enacted bythe 105th United States Congress
EffectiveOctober 28, 1998
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 105-304
Statutes at Large112 Stat. 2860 (1998)
Codification
Acts amendedCopyright Act of 1976
Titles amended5 (Government Organization and Employees); 17 (Copyrights); 28 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure); 35 (Patents)
U.S.C. sections created17 U.S.C. §§ 512, 1201–1205, 1301–1332; 28 U.S.C. § 4001
U.S.C. sections amended17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 104, 104A, 108, 132, 114, 117, 701
Legislative history

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a copyright law that protects copyright on the internet in the U.S.A. This Act was passed by the United States Congress in 1998.[1][2]

It puts into effect two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and distribution of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent (get around) measures which control access to copyrighted works. These "measures" are commonly known as digital rights management or DRM.[3]

The WIPO Copyright Treaty is the basis of protecting copyright on the web.

References[change | change source]

  1. DMCA p7.
  2. United States Code (2010) Title 17 CHAPTER 5, COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND REMEDIES, Sec. 506 – Criminal offenses
  3. Nimmer, David (2000). "A Riff on Fair Use in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act". University of Pennsylvania Law Review. 148 (3): 673–742. doi:10.2307/3312825. JSTOR 3312825. SSRN 222370.