DMCA Changes: The Truth

A few days ago the the U.S. Copyright Office made some changes to the digital millennium copyright act (DMCA). This act, which was passed in 1998, criminalises the production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures known as digital rights management (DRM) that control access to copyrighted works.

The recent changes include:

• It is now legal to copy films on DVD that are being used in order to "accomplish the incorporation of short portions of motion pictures into new works for the purpose of criticism or comment" by college and university professors and students engaged in documentary film making or making noncommercial videos. This change is probably the most significant, but has been incorrectly reported by some media outlets that any person can now legally copy films from DVD.

• The ability to use computer programs that enable you to use legitimately purchased software on your phone if there is no other way for the program to be run on the device.

• The ability to use computer programs that enable the user to use their phone on a different cellular network.

• Allowing a video game's DRM to be circumvented for the purpose of security tests.

• Allowing computer programs to circumvent DRM on obsolete dongles (USB sticks). The Copyright Office notes, "A dongle shall be considered obsolete if it is no longer manufactured or if a replacement or repair is no longer reasonably available in the commercial marketplace."

• Allowing computer programs to circumvent DRM on EBooks that contain access controls that prevent enabling the read-aloud function or screen readers.

The second change essentially legalises iPhone jailbreaking and the use of unofficial app stores, such as the popular Cydia. Apple provided the following statement:

"Apple’s goal has always been to insure that our customers have a great experience with their iPhone and we know that jailbreaking can severely degrade the experience. As we’ve said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably."

For more information on jailbreaking, check out my previous article "iPhone Jailbreaking - Worth it?".