Defining the Contours of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act: The Growing Body of Case Law Surrounding the DMCA

摘要

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) went into effect over five years ago, and courts continue to struggle with the task of statutory interpretation. While the constitutionality of the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions is well established, the parameters of its safe harbor provisions are not as clearly defined. Several recent cases confirm the DMCA's constitutionality, and others define and clarify the roles and obligations of both copyright holders and online service providers in policing infringing works on the Internet. Still more cases have limited the reach of the DMCA to preclude its application outside the area of copyright-protected works. This Note explores a broad range of recent developments under the DMCA. By way of background, Part Ⅰ describes the context in which the content industries and online service providers reached the bargain with Congress that resulted in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Part Ⅱ focuses on the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA, exploring the most recent developments involving durable goods aftermarkets, the newly announced regulatory exceptions, and the well-settled question of the constitutionality of these provisions. Part Ⅲ considers the latest cases to interpret the parameters of the safe harbor provisions, and highlights the potential for abuse of cease-and-desist letters. This Note concludes that almost six years under the DMCA have proved both the limited scope of the exceptions and that the prohibitions, though broad, do not extend as far as durable goods aftermarkets and uncopyrighted works.