Every three years, the US Copyright Office has to ask America about all the ways in which Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (which bans bypassing DRM, even for legitimate reasons) interferes with our lives, and then it grants limited exemptions based on the results.
In the 2015 rulemaking, the Electronic Frontier Foundation won significant exemptions for repair, security research and fair use. With the 2018 rulemaking just opened, EFF is coming back to the plate, asking for exemptions to once again protect key freedoms: the right to repair, diagnose and improve our software-enabled devices; the right to jailbreak personal devices; the right to make video excerpts from DRM formats for criticism or commentary; the right to conduct security research; and the right to bypass HDCP on video for legitimate purposes.
Over the next few months, we’ll be presenting evidence to the Copyright Office to support these exemptions. We’ll also be supporting other exemptions, including one for vehicle maintenance and repair that was proposed by the Auto Care Association and the Consumer Technology Association. And we’ll be helping you, digital device users, tinkerers, and creators, make your voice heard in Washington DC on this issue.
[Mitch Stoltz/EFF]
