Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) makes it illegal to circumvent a technological measure that controls access to a work protected by copyright. The law was enacted as an attempt to fight film and music piracy. Over the years, content owners have come up with a number of tools for Digital Rights Management (DRM) meant to stop piracy - they've all been defeated. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a lawsuit claiming that Section 1201 of the DMCA violates the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. You can read the EFF's press release online. The argument is that Section 1201 criminalizes access to protected content for lawful purposes, such as those covered by Fair Use. The case has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. You can see the full complaint here. This one will be interesting to watch.
- R. Scott Kimsey