Copyrights In The Digital Millennium

Team VADA eViews
The Digital Newsletter of Your Virginia Automobile Dealers Association
May - June 2008
 
 
  • Digital copyright laws can have significant consequences for dealers
  • Many people mistakenly believe it permissible to make copies of media they have lawfully purchased
  • It is critical to understand copyright rules
 
Digital copyright laws can have significant consequences for dealers. Alarmed by declining revenues caused by the unauthorized online copying of their products, large entertainment companies have sought enhanced legal protections. Of special importance is the federal Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (“DMCA”). 
 
The DCMA does not actually prohibit making unauthorized copies of movies, music, or software from sources on the internet—a traditional protection that has existed for decades. Rather, the DCMA criminalizes the use, creation and distribution of technology, devices, or services that circumvent anti-piracy protections commonly embedded by media distributors in DVDs and software. With the wide availability of software to defeat these protections, converting or “ripping” (converting physical media like DVDs and CDs to digital files on a hard drive or iPod) digital media is tempting. In fact, circumventing these anti-piracy protections can have serious consequences. 
 
 Many people mistakenly believe that it is permissible to make copies of media that have been lawfully purchased as long as the copies are never distributed. Doing so, though, may infringe the copyright and, if the work reproduced contains digital anti-piracy protection, such an action violates the DMCA.
 
Violations of the DMCA can be costly. Copyright holders are permitted to recover either their actual damages caused by violators or statutory damages of between $200 and $2,500 per act of encryption circumvention, plus costs and attorneys fees. In addition, DMCA violators may be prosecuted criminally and receive fines of up to $500,000 and five years in prison for a first offense. Although media producers are often reluctant to sue individual consumers for copyright infringement and violations of the DMCA, businesses are a prime target for litigation because of the perception that they have deep pockets and few defenses. Given these legal requirements, the following are useful points to remember:
 

  • Whenever digital media is purchased for a business, carefully read all the limitations which are included on the media itself or accompanying documents concerning the use of the product. Strictly observe these limitations.

     

  • Do not copy or permit the copying of digital media which contain encryption or any other anti-piracy technology.

     

  • Do not use nor copy any media that the business did not purchase without the specific permission of the copyright holder.

     

  • Permission to copy, distribute, or perform protected media may often conveniently be obtained from the Copyright Clearance Center (www.copyright.com), which serves as a central clearing house for forwarding copyright royalties to many copyright holders.

     

  • Employees must be trained to understand these basic copyright rules.
 
Knowledge of and compliance with these rules is more important than ever because media producers often offer large financial rewards to individuals who report illegal copying by a company. 
 
 
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