Cloud (Digital) Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

Wikipedia Definition & Overview
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is an amendment to United States copyright law, passed unanimously on May 14, 1998, which criminalizes the production and dissemination of technology that allows users to circumvent technical copy-restriction methods. Under the Act, circumvention of a technological measure that effectively controls access to a work is illegal if done with the primary intent of violating the rights of copyright holders.

 

Cloud Computing, Clickwrap Agreements, and Limitation on Liability Clauses: A Perfect Storm?
Recently, courts have begun to enforce limitation on liability clauses in click-wrap agreements,10 but the use of these clauses presents troubling new concerns because of the high value and volume of data stored in the cloud. By assenting to these agreements, cloud customers are clicking away more of their legal rights than they might think.

Infringers or Innovators? Examining Copyright Liability for Cloud-Based Music Locker Services
Music lockers—Internet sites where users may store a copy of their music for later playback—have revolutionized the way people listen to music, allowing them to take their music with them anywhere in the world. However, rights holders are concerned that these locker services potentially infringe music copyrights when they allow their users to upload and stream music and when they use a space-saving technology called “deduplication.”

MP3tunes Scores A Victory For Cloud Locker Services
Cloud-based music services can heave a sigh of relief. MP3tunes, the cloud locker service founded by Michael Robertson, scored a partial victory in the copyright litigation brought by EMI. In his August 22nd decision, Judge William H. Pauley III agreed with MP3tunes that the safe harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) protected it against many of EMI’s infringement claims.

YouTube Video – Digital Millennium Copyright Act – Exploring Fair Use Rights
This video takes a glimpse at how Fair Use rights have become a heated political issue concerning creation and use of today’s media under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. (May 2011)