Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Matthew BeyerSophomore at Siena College

April 29, 2013

DMCA History

• Enacted by the US Congress in October 1998 to update the US Copyright Act in order to cope with new communications technologies.

• The DMCA was necessary in order for the US to comply with the World Intellectual Property Organization.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is the United Nation’s agency dedicated to the use of intellectual property as a means of stimulating innovation and creativity.

How does the DMCA Work?

Title I: WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act

Title II: Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act.

DMCA Safe Harbor: Online Service Providers are not held liable for their users’ copyright infringement

DMCA Takedown Notice: A form used to request that an online service provider remove specific material that infringes on one of your copyrights.

Image from Google

Image from Youtube

How does the DMCA Work For YOU?

How many people here have at least one copyright? (Not copyrighted material)

Image from DMCA.com

But How Does the DMCA REALLY Work For You?

By limiting your freedoms through the criminalization of the production and

dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent DRM that control access

to copyrighted works.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) are any technology used by copyright holders to control access to their copyrighted good or service.

URLs requested to be removed from Google Searches per week

Images from Google

Images from Google

DMCA Takedown Abuse

• NASA’s second Mars Rover video was DMCA’d by Scripps Local News.

• Fox DMCA’d a San Francisco Chronicle article claiming that it was distributing the movie Chronicle.

• GoPro DMCA’d a reviewer for using the names of their products.

• Microsoft DMCAs their own webpages.

Who Does This Hurt?

The general public:• By disrupting commons like Youtube videos and

online articles.• By arbitrarily removing our data and content.

Online service providers:• Google is forced to deal with a disproportionate

number of takedown requests.• Other hosts like Youtube are forced to remove

legitimate content, which harms their users.

What Can We Do!?

• Petition your local Congressman and House Representative!

• Petition Google, Youtube, and other major DMCA targets!

• File an appeal if your content is removed!• Or deal with it.

CitationsEllis-Christensen, Tricia, and O. Wallace. "What Is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)?" WiseGeek. Conjecture, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.Kumparak, Greg. "GoPro Sends Reviewer A DMCA Takedown Notice, Internet Explodes - But Wait! It Was An “Unfortunate Miscommunication”." TechCrunch RSS. N.p., 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.Masnick, Mike. "Fox Issues DMCA Takedown To Google Over SF Chronicle Article... Claiming It Was The Movie 'Chronicle'" Techdirt. N.p., 29 May 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.Pasternack, Alex. "NASA's Mars Rover Crashed Into a DMCA Takedown." Motherboard. N.p., Aug. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.Seltzer, Wendy. "Free Speech Unmoored in Copyright’s Safe Harbor: Chilling Effects of the DMCA on the First Amendment" ExpressO

Available at: http://works.bepress.com/wendy_seltzer/3"Copyright Removal Requests – Google Transparency Report." Google - Transparency Report. Google, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013."DMCA." Electronic Frontier Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013."What Is WIPO?" WIPO - About WIPO. World Intellectual Property Organization, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.