Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

H.R. 2282 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. (PDF Format)

• U.S. Copyright Office Summary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 December 1998

US Copyright Office DMCA Studies, Rulings and Hearings

• Digital Millennium Copyright Act Study
  On October 28, 1998, H.R. 2281, the DMCA was enacted into law.  Section 104 of the DMCA directs the Register of Copyrights and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information to prepare a report for the Congress examining the effects of the amendments made by title 1 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and the development of electronic commerce on the operation of sections 109 and 117 of title 17, United States Code, and the relationship between existing and emerging technology and the operation of such sections.
  • Report
    • Executive Summary
    • Volume 1 (DCMA Section 104 Report) (PDF Format size 833k)
    • Volume 2 (Public Comments) (PDF Formatsize 1.7mb)
    • Volume 3 (Public Hearing) (PDF Formatsize 1mb)
  • Public Hearing, November 29, 2000
  • Summaries of Testimony, Prepared Statements, and Transcript of Hearing
  • Public Comments
  • Reply Comments
  • Notice of Public Hearing 65 FR 63626 (Oct. 24, 2000)
  • Federal Register Notice 65 FR 35673 (June 5, 2000)
• Proceedings conducted by The Copyright Office of the Library of Congress and mandated by the DMCA, which provides that the Librarian of Congress may exempt certain classes of works from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works.
  • 2002 Record of Anti-circumvention Rule Making Proceedings
  • Notice of InquiryFederal Register: October 15, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 199)
  • Hearing Agendas and Transcripts April 11, 2003 - May 15, 2003 (Note: This page will be updated as more transcripts become available)
• Ruling on Exemptions from Prohibition on Circumvention of Technological Measures that Control Access to Copyrighted Works A new ruling was issued to implement the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The Librarian of Congress, on the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, has announced the classes of works subject to the exemption from the prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. These exemptions take effect October 28, 2000 to October 28, 2003.

Commentary, Analysis and Online Resources

• American Library Association DMCA Analysis and Commentary
  • DMCA Section 104 Report on "First Sale" Examination of the Copyright Office and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) report to Congress on the effects on the "first sale doctrine" of the DMCA and the development of electronic commerce.
  • Examination of the rule issued by the Library of Congress to implement Section 1201 governing circumvention of copyright protection systems.
• DMCA Status and Analysis from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
  • Highlights of New Copyright Provision Establishing Limitation of Liability for Online Service Providers From Lutzker & Lutzker and the Association of Research Libraries.
• Comments from the American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, American Association of Law Libraries, Medical Library Association and Special Libraries Association in response to the effects of the amendments made by Title 1 of the DMCA and the development of electronic commerce and associated technology on the operation of Sections 109 and 117 of Title17, United States Code, and the relationship between existing and emerging technology and the operation of those sections.
• Library Associations' comments before Copyright Office on 1201 Rulemaking (12/18/02) (PDF Format)
• DMCA Index Timelines, documents and articles from the Digital Future Coalition
  • DMCA Timeline
• Electronic Frontier Foundation DMCA Archive Articles, links and more.
• In the Curl of the Wave: What the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Term Extension Act Mean for the Library and Education Community by Arnold P. Lutzker, Lutzker & Lutzker LLP
• "Slip-SlidingAway: Time Expiring on DMCA Challenges" (Dames). Reviews DMCA developments of 2001, emphasizing the Universal City Studios v. Corley, Felten v. RIAA, and U.S. v. Sklyarov cases.
• Summary of "Super DMCA" Legislation at the State Level From Freedom to Tinker
• Unintended Consequences: Three Years Under the DMCA Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) white paper by Senior Intellectual Property Attorney Fred von Lohmann. (May 2002)