U.S. Copyright Office Launches Digital Millennium Copyright Act Webpage
Issue No. 853 - September 30, 2020
The U.S. Copyright Office today launched a new webpage dedicated to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The new webpage consolidates information and resources about various aspects of the DMCA, including section 512’s safe harbors and notice-and-takedown system, section 1201’s anticircumvention provisions, and section 1202’s copyright management information protections.
In its recent report, Section 512 of Title 17, the Office found that educational initiatives and resources about the notice-and-takedown system may help to alleviate certain imbalances in the section 512 framework by reducing the number of inappropriate notices and counter-claims that arise from a lack of awareness and understanding of the law. The new DMCA webpage initiates the Office’s efforts to provide creators, users, online services providers, and the public with resources to navigate the notice-and-takedown process and its developments.
From the new DMCA webpage, users can easily navigate to a new page on section 512, including information about how section 512’s notice-and-takedown process works, sample takedown and counter-notices, and a link to the DMCA agents’ database. The DMCA webpage also links to the Office’s section 1201 page for more resources on the anticircumvention provisions, including a tutorial and the Register’s past recommendations on the triennial rulemaking process.