Tuesday, September 29, 2015

What is the Digital Copyright Act

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a law that the United States put into place in 1998 through a unanimous vote in the Senate. This act criminalizes the sharing of devices, services used to pirate digital media, and the sharing of technology. This includes services meant to get around digital rights management software, which helps to control who has access to copyrighted works. One of the largest changes that this act makes is the exemption of liability from both Internet service providers and other intermediary technological services.

Here is a rundown of the provisions of the DMCA:

· Title I: WIPO Copyright and performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act - It modifies United States copyright law to be in compliance with the two international treaties from which it derives its name.

· Title II: Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act – Title II provides a safe harbor ability for Internet service providers. It limits their liability with regard to copyright infringement claims so long as they are able to meet certain requirements.

· Title III: Computer Maintenance Competition Assurance Act – Title III allows for individuals or companies repairing computers or making computer modifications to make temporary copies of files found on this computers in accordance with the work that they are doing.

· Title IV: Miscellaneous Provisions – Including broadcast copy provisions, duties of the Copyright Office, collective bargaining and movie rights provisions, provisions designed to help with education across distances, and provisions meant to help libraries keep and preserve various sound-recordings.

· Title V: Vessel Hull Design Protection Act – This adds protections under copyright law for boat hull designs. Formerly, these were not covered under copyright law under the auspices that their form could not be separated cleanly from their function.

This act has been one of the primary tools used by copyright lawyers to combat the piracy of digital media in the United States. A complete summary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act can be found at the United States Copyright Office website.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Different Ways Publishers are Protecting Themselves

Given the sheer size of the publishing industry, it should come as no surprise that publishers take a number of efforts to protect themselves. There are a myriad of legal issues that are involved with every step of the process. Beyond that, there is always the fear that piracy or other forms of book theft could cut into profits and damage the economic integrity of the industry as a whole.

There are, however, a number of ways that publishers protect themselves from these threats:

Lawsuits

Typically, lawsuits are handled by either lawyers that are on the staff of the publishing house or through an outside lawyer that the publishing house has on retainer. These individuals will handle lawsuits stemming from consumers and from clients in the publishing industry itself. At times, authors will file lawsuits against publishing houses because they feel as though they (or their work) is being misused or they are not being compensated the amount owed to them. Consumer lawsuits usually originate with some sort of social issue regarding document content.

Piracy

The publishing industry has a number of methods of dealing with piracy:

· Sharing fake or incomplete documents – One of the best ways to combat piracy is done by sharing incomplete or fake copies of published works that direct downloaders to purchase a physical copy.

· DMCA notices – Using the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, publishers can send takedown requests for copyrighted material.

· Public relations campaigns – PR campaigns are primarily used to turn public opinion onto the plight of publishers who are suffering due to piracy of their works.

The publishing industry as a whole invites problems upon itself merely by existing. Since they set the prices of books and they are the group who chooses what kinds of things will get published and which ones won’t, they become the target from many different groups. Fortunately, there are countermeasures that they have in place to stabilize their position in the industry and maintain the chain of creativity that moves from authors to consumers.