The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)

The DMCA (1998) has been the subject of a great deal of discussion within the academic community, largely because of a perception that some of its provisions limit the availability of material that had previously been allowable under Fair Use. The most discussed provisions of the DMCA are that it outlaws circumvention of technological copyright protection systems and limits the liability of online service providers for copyright infringements on their network. These provisions can have significant implications for educators. In the case of the former, it stands to limit access to materials that have previously been considered available under Fair Use. The latter could be even more significant in that its limiting of the liability of academic institutions for violations on their networks places the bulk of the liability on individual offenders--i.e., the instructors.

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