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Recent
Laws Affecting Digital Works:
Disclaimer
The Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA):
- Illegal to circumvent
anti-piracy measures embedded in commercial software.
- Allows
cracking copyright protection devices to conduct encryption
research, to assess product interoperability, and to test
computer security systems.
- Limits copyright infringement
liability for Internet service providers (ISPs). Fort Hays
State University is an ISP.
- Internet service providers,
however, are expected to immediately remove material that
appears to constitute copyright infringement upon receiving
a legitimate complaint, and for that reason, Fort Hays
State University has appointed David
Schmidt as the infringement agent to receive complaints
about any infringements on an FHSU Web site.
- The DMCA requires
the U.S. Copyright Office to set licensing fees for webcasters.
- Finally, the DMCA
requires the Register of Copyrights to study the impact
of the DMCA on education and to submit recommendations in
6 months after the law was enacted.
- 2003: exemptions for DMCA code cracking restrictions
now include e-books that prevent read-aloud or other disabled
access formats from functioning, obsolete formats in computer
programs, or hardware that are broken or obsolete. Also
lists of sites blocked by commercial Internet filtering
software, but not spam-fighting lists.
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Want to know more?
Visit the U.S. Copyright Basics Page
TEACH
Act (2002)
(Technology,
Education and Copyright Harmonization Act):
This bill, nowincorporated
into U.S. Copyright Law, will benefit distance education by updating
Title 17 (U.S. Copyright Law) to allow not only cable, but also
digital transmission of:
- entire performances of
non-dramatic musical or literary work
- "reasonable and limited
portions" of other performances
- displays of works and
images (stationary)
But
please note: The TEACH Act requires
stringent
standards of compliance
with
federal guidelines on use of copyright-protected performances
and other materials. It was signed into law on November of 2002.
TEACH
Act - Amended Section 110(1)-(2)
Want
to know more?
Sonny
Bono Term Extension Act (1998)
The Sonny
Bono Act extends the length (duration) of copyright an additional
20 years, to 70 years after the death of the author. This act
was the first copyright provision to be constitutionally challenged
in 200 years. The Supreme Court has decided in favor of maintaining
the Sonny Bono Extension Act.
Want
to know more?
Also
stay up to date on new legislation through the Thomas
Register.
updated January 2006
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