Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Since they were enacted in 1998, the "anti-circumvention" provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") have not been used as Congress envisioned. Congress meant to stop copyright pirates from defeating DRM restrictions (aka content or copy protections) added to copyrighted works and to ban the "black box" devices intended for that purpose.

In practice, the DMCA and DRM have done nothing to stop "Internet piracy." Yet the DMCA has become a serious threat that jeopardizes fair use, impedes competition and innovation, chills free expression and scientific research, and interferes with computer intrusion laws. If you circumvent DRM locks for noninfringing fair uses or create the tools to do so, you might be on the receiving end of a lawsuit.

EFF has fought hard against the DMCA in the courts, Congress, and other forums. Learn more through the links below, and take action now to support DMCA reform.

• DMCA Unintended Consequences - Seven Years under the DMCA. A description of some of the very real problems that have already appeared because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
• Measuring the DMCA Against the Darknet: [PDF] Implications for the Regulation of Technological Protections Measures by Fred von Lohmann
• DMCA Triennial Rulemaking: Failing the Digital Consumer [PDF]
• Learn more about The Battle for Your Digital Media Devices

Selected DMCA Cases

• MGM v. 321 Studios - Filing an amicus brief, EFF defended 321 studios after the movie studios sued to ban software that helps you back-up DVDs.
• Universal v. Corley (MPAA DVD cases) - EFF represented online journalists sued by the movie studios for posting and linking to DeCSS DVD decryption code.
• Felten v. RIAA - EFF helped Princeton academics sue the RIAA, SDMI, Verance, and the U.S. government over abuse of the DMCA to silence legitimate research. The RIAA then agreed not to sue.
• US v. Elcomsoft (the Sklyarov case) - After Dmitry Skylarov was arrested for creating Adobe eBook decryption software, EFF led the campaign to have charges dropped. EFF later filed an amicus brief asking a court to dismiss criminal charges against the Russian software company Skylarov worked for. A jury later acquitted the company.
• Blizzard v. BnetD - EFF defended the creators of the BnetD game server—which interoperates with Blizzard video games online—against a lawsuit alleging violations of the DMCA DMCA and Blizzard Games' end user license agreement (EULA).
• Chamberlain v. Skylink - EFF filed a brief in support of Skylink, who Chamberlain had sued for allegedly violating the DMCA by selling remote control devices that work with Chamberlain garage door openers. Skylink won, setting important limits on the DMCA's reach.
• Lexmark v. Static Control - EFF filed a brief defending Static Control against Lexmark's DMCA lawsuit, which aimed at eliminating aftermarket laser printer toner cartridges. Static Control's victory set important limits on the DMCA.