Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC
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201-896-4100 info@sh-law.comFirm Insights
Author: Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC
Date: December 18, 2018
The Firm
201-896-4100 info@sh-law.comThe U.S. Copyright Office recently published its final rules regarding exemptions to the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). It is now legal to “jailbreak” your Amazon Alexa, unlock your new iPhone, and repair your own smart appliance without running afoul of U.S. copyright law. It is also now legal for third-party businesses to perform repairs on certain electronic devices without facing potential legal liability.
Section 1201 of Title 17 prohibits attempts to sidestep technological measures employed by copyright owners to protect their works. For instance, section 1201 makes it illegal for a person to decrypt a DVD containing a copyrighted movie or to bypass a password control to access a subscription video streaming service. However, in order to ensure that the public is still able to engage in non-infringing uses of copyrighted works, the DMCA authorizes the Copyright Office to provide certain exemptions. Every three years, the Copyright Office is required to reconsider and update its exclusions to the DMCA’s provisions.
As highlighted by the Copyright Office, the proposals received in its latest rulemaking reflected the growing pervasiveness of the Internet of Things. “Like the 2015 rulemaking, this proceeding saw numerous requests to access copyrighted software contained in consumer products and other devices and systems,” the Copyright Office wrote in its Section 1201 Rulemaking. “Proponents of these exemptions do not wish to access such software for its creative content, but instead are seeking to study, repair, or modify the functionality of the device or system itself.”
Highlights of the new DMCA exemptions include the ability to unlock both new and old smartphones, tablets and similar devices. Users can also jailbreak and repair smart devices, ranging from smart watches to home systems. The right also extends to third parties who can perform repairs on behalf of the owner.
The exemption for good faith security research was also expanded. The exemption, first enacted in 2015, was previously limited to devices or machines primarily designed for use by individual consumers (including voting machines), motorized land vehicles, and medical devices designed for whole or partial implantation in patients, along with corresponding personal monitoring systems. The exemption was also limited to research on lawfully acquired devices and applied only to circumvention done solely for the purpose of good faith security research. It also required that the research be carried out in a controlled environment designed to avoid harm to individuals or the public, that the information derived from the research be used primarily to promote the security or safety of the devices or their users, and that the circumvention not violate any applicable law, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986.
Based on arguments that security researchers have a legitimate interest in conducting good faith research on devices and systems beyond those enumerated in the 2015 exemption, the amended exemption removes the limitation to specific devices, and additionally allows security research on a computer, computer system, or computer network with the authorization of the relevant owner or operator. The amended exemption no longer requires the research be done in a “controlled” environment, but it retains the requirement that the device be lawfully obtained, and the requirement that the circumvention not violate other laws.
Below is a full list of the new DMCA exemptions:
Notably, it is still illegal to distribute jailbreaking software and other tools designed to circumvent copyright protection. Also, the right to repair does not extend to all electronic devices, with video game consoles notably absent.
The new DMCA exemptions took effect on October 28, 2018, and they will remain effective until the completion of the next rulemaking in 2021. To understand how the new DMCA exemption may impact you or your business, we encourage you to contact an experienced intellectual property attorney.
If you have any questions or if you would like to discuss the matter further, please contact me, William R. Samuels, at 201-806-3364.
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