US LAWS, STATUTES & CODES ON-LINE

US Supreme Court Decisions On-Line | US Laws



§ 1201. —  Circumvention of copyright protection systems.



[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 17USC1201]

 
                          TITLE 17--COPYRIGHTS
 
         CHAPTER 12--COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
 
Sec. 1201. Circumvention of copyright protection systems

    (a) Violations Regarding Circumvention of Technological Measures.--
(1)(A) No person shall circumvent a technological measure that 
effectively controls access to a work protected under this title. The 
prohibition contained in the preceding sentence shall take effect at the 
end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 
chapter.
    (B) The prohibition contained in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to 
persons who are users of a copyrighted work which is in a particular 
class of works, if such persons are, or are likely to be in the 
succeeding 3-year period, adversely affected by virtue of such 
prohibition in their ability to make noninfringing uses of that 
particular class of works under this title, as determined under 
subparagraph (C).
    (C) During the 2-year period described in subparagraph (A), and 
during each succeeding 3-year period, the Librarian of Congress, upon 
the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, who shall consult with 
the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the 
Department of Commerce and report and comment on his or her views in 
making such recommendation, shall make the determination in a rulemaking 
proceeding for purposes of subparagraph (B) of whether persons who are 
users of a copyrighted work are, or are likely to be in the succeeding 
3-year period, adversely affected by the prohibition under subparagraph 
(A) in their ability to make noninfringing uses under this title of a 
particular class of copyrighted works. In conducting such rulemaking, 
the Librarian shall examine--
        (i) the availability for use of copyrighted works;
        (ii) the availability for use of works for nonprofit archival, 
    preservation, and educational purposes;
        (iii) the impact that the prohibition on the circumvention of 
    technological measures applied to copyrighted works has on 
    criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or 
    research;
        (iv) the effect of circumvention of technological measures on 
    the market for or value of copyrighted works; and
        (v) such other factors as the Librarian considers appropriate.

    (D) The Librarian shall publish any class of copyrighted works for 
which the Librarian has determined, pursuant to the rulemaking conducted 
under subparagraph (C), that noninfringing uses by persons who are users 
of a copyrighted work are, or are likely to be, adversely affected, and 
the prohibition contained in subparagraph (A) shall not apply to such 
users with respect to such class of works for the ensuing 3-year period.
    (E) Neither the exception under subparagraph (B) from the 
applicability of the prohibition contained in subparagraph (A), nor any 
determination made in a rulemaking conducted under subparagraph (C), may 
be used as a defense in any action to enforce any provision of this 
title other than this paragraph.
    (2) No person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, 
provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, product, service, 
device, component, or part thereof, that--
        (A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of 
    circumventing a technological measure that effectively controls 
    access to a work protected under this title;
        (B) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use 
    other than to circumvent a technological measure that effectively 
    controls access to a work protected under this title; or
        (C) is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with 
    that person with that person's knowledge for use in circumventing a 
    technological measure that effectively controls access to a work 
    protected under this title.

    (3) As used in this subsection--
        (A) to ``circumvent a technological measure'' means to 
    descramble a scrambled work, to decrypt an encrypted work, or 
    otherwise to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or impair a 
    technological measure, without the authority of the copyright owner; 
    and
        (B) a technological measure ``effectively controls access to a 
    work'' if the measure, in the ordinary course of its operation, 
    requires the application of information, or a process or a 
    treatment, with the authority of the copyright owner, to gain access 
    to the work.

    (b) Additional Violations.--(1) No person shall manufacture, import, 
offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, 
product, service, device, component, or part thereof, that--
        (A) is primarily designed or produced for the purpose of 
    circumventing protection afforded by a technological measure that 
    effectively protects a right of a copyright owner under this title 
    in a work or a portion thereof;
        (B) has only limited commercially significant purpose or use 
    other than to circumvent protection afforded by a technological 
    measure that effectively protects a right of a copyright owner under 
    this title in a work or a portion thereof; or
        (C) is marketed by that person or another acting in concert with 
    that person with that person's knowledge for use in circumventing 
    protection afforded by a technological measure that effectively 
    protects a right of a copyright owner under this title in a work or 
    a portion thereof.

    (2) As used in this subsection--
        (A) to ``circumvent protection afforded by a technological 
    measure'' means avoiding, bypassing, removing, deactivating, or 
    otherwise impairing a technological measure; and
        (B) a technological measure ``effectively protects a right of a 
    copyright owner under this title'' if the measure, in the ordinary 
    course of its operation, prevents, restricts, or otherwise limits 
    the exercise of a right of a copyright owner under this title.

    (c) Other Rights, Etc., Not Affected.--(1) Nothing in this section 
shall affect rights, remedies, limitations, or defenses to copyright 
infringement, including fair use, under this title.
    (2) Nothing in this section shall enlarge or diminish vicarious or 
contributory liability for copyright infringement in connection with any 
technology, product, service, device, component, or part thereof.
    (3) Nothing in this section shall require that the design of, or 
design and selection of parts and components for, a consumer 
electronics, telecommunications, or computing product provide for a 
response to any particular technological measure, so long as such part 
or component, or the product in which such part or component is 
integrated, does not otherwise fall within the prohibitions of 
subsection (a)(2) or (b)(1).
    (4) Nothing in this section shall enlarge or diminish any rights of 
free speech or the press for activities using consumer electronics, 
telecommunications, or computing products.
    (d) Exemption for Nonprofit Libraries, Archives, and Educational 
Institutions.--(1) A nonprofit library, archives, or educational 
institution which gains access to a commercially exploited copyrighted 
work solely in order to make a good faith determination of whether to 
acquire a copy of that work for the sole purpose of engaging in conduct 
permitted under this title shall not be in violation of subsection 
(a)(1)(A). A copy of a work to which access has been gained under this 
paragraph--
        (A) may not be retained longer than necessary to make such good 
    faith determination; and
        (B) may not be used for any other purpose.

    (2) The exemption made available under paragraph (1) shall only 
apply with respect to a work when an identical copy of that work is not 
reasonably available in another form.
    (3) A nonprofit library, archives, or educational institution that 
willfully for the purpose of commercial advantage or financial gain 
violates paragraph (1)--
        (A) shall, for the first offense, be subject to the civil 
    remedies under section 1203; and
        (B) shall, for repeated or subsequent offenses, in addition to 
    the civil remedies under section 1203, forfeit the exemption 
    provided under paragraph (1).

    (4) This subsection may not be used as a defense to a claim under 
subsection (a)(2) or (b), nor may this subsection permit a nonprofit 
library, archives, or educational institution to manufacture, import, 
offer to the public, provide, or otherwise traffic in any technology, 
product, service, component, or part thereof, which circumvents a 
technological measure.
    (5) In order for a library or archives to qualify for the exemption 
under this subsection, the collections of that library or archives shall 
be--
        (A) open to the public; or
        (B) available not only to researchers affiliated with the 
    library or archives or with the institution of which it is a part, 
    but also to other persons doing research in a specialized field.

    (e) Law Enforcement, Intelligence, and Other Government 
Activities.--This section does not prohibit any lawfully authorized 
investigative, protective, information security, or intelligence 
activity of an officer, agent, or employee of the United States, a 
State, or a political subdivision of a State, or a person acting 
pursuant to a contract with the United States, a State, or a political 
subdivision of a State. For purposes of this subsection, the term 
``information security'' means activities carried out in order to 
identify and address the vulnerabilities of a government computer, 
computer system, or computer network.
    (f) Reverse Engineering.--(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of 
subsection (a)(1)(A), a person who has lawfully obtained the right to 
use a copy of a computer program may circumvent a technological measure 
that effectively controls access to a particular portion of that program 
for the sole purpose of identifying and analyzing those elements of the 
program that are necessary to achieve interoperability of an 
independently created computer program with other programs, and that 
have not previously been readily available to the person engaging in the 
circumvention, to the extent any such acts of identification and 
analysis do not constitute infringement under this title.
    (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a)(2) and (b), a 
person may develop and employ technological means to circumvent a 
technological measure, or to circumvent protection afforded by a 
technological measure, in order to enable the identification and 
analysis under paragraph (1), or for the purpose of enabling 
interoperability of an independently created computer program with other 
programs, if such means are necessary to achieve such interoperability, 
to the extent that doing so does not constitute infringement under this 
title.
    (3) The information acquired through the acts permitted under 
paragraph (1), and the means permitted under paragraph (2), may be made 
available to others if the person referred to in paragraph (1) or (2), 
as the case may be, provides such information or means solely for the 
purpose of enabling interoperability of an independently created 
computer program with other programs, and to the extent that doing so 
does not constitute infringement under this title or violate applicable 
law other than this section.
    (4) For purposes of this subsection, the term ``interoperability'' 
means the ability of computer programs to exchange information, and of 
such programs mutually to use the information which has been exchanged.
    (g) Encryption Research.--
        (1) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection--
            (A) the term ``encryption research'' means activities 
        necessary to identify and analyze flaws and vulnerabilities of 
        encryption technologies applied to copyrighted works, if these 
        activities are conducted to advance the state of knowledge in 
        the field of encryption technology or to assist in the 
        development of encryption products; and
            (B) the term ``encryption technology'' means the scrambling 
        and descrambling of information using mathematical formulas or 
        algorithms.

        (2) Permissible acts of encryption research.--Notwithstanding 
    the provisions of subsection (a)(1)(A), it is not a violation of 
    that subsection for a person to circumvent a technological measure 
    as applied to a copy, phonorecord, performance, or display of a 
    published work in the course of an act of good faith encryption 
    research if--
            (A) the person lawfully obtained the encrypted copy, 
        phonorecord, performance, or display of the published work;
            (B) such act is necessary to conduct such encryption 
        research;
            (C) the person made a good faith effort to obtain 
        authorization before the circumvention; and
            (D) such act does not constitute infringement under this 
        title or a violation of applicable law other than this section, 
        including section 1030 of title 18 and those provisions of title 
        18 amended by the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986.

        (3) Factors in determining exemption.--In determining whether a 
    person qualifies for the exemption under paragraph (2), the factors 
    to be considered shall include--
            (A) whether the information derived from the encryption 
        research was disseminated, and if so, whether it was 
        disseminated in a manner reasonably calculated to advance the 
        state of knowledge or development of encryption technology, 
        versus whether it was disseminated in a manner that facilitates 
        infringement under this title or a violation of applicable law 
        other than this section, including a violation of privacy or 
        breach of security;
            (B) whether the person is engaged in a legitimate course of 
        study, is employed, or is appropriately trained or experienced, 
        in the field of encryption technology; and
            (C) whether the person provides the copyright owner of the 
        work to which the technological measure is applied with notice 
        of the findings and documentation of the research, and the time 
        when such notice is provided.

        (4) Use of technological means for research activities.--
    Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a)(2), it is not a 
    violation of that subsection for a person to--
            (A) develop and employ technological means to circumvent a 
        technological measure for the sole purpose of that person 
        performing the acts of good faith encryption research described 
        in paragraph (2); and
            (B) provide the technological means to another person with 
        whom he or she is working collaboratively for the purpose of 
        conducting the acts of good faith encryption research described 
        in paragraph (2) or for the purpose of having that other person 
        verify his or her acts of good faith encryption research 
        described in paragraph (2).

        (5) Report to congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
    the enactment of this chapter, the Register of Copyrights and the 
    Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information of the 
    Department of Commerce shall jointly report to the Congress on the 
    effect this subsection has had on--
            (A) encryption research and the development of encryption 
        technology;
            (B) the adequacy and effectiveness of technological measures 
        designed to protect copyrighted works; and
            (C) protection of copyright owners against the unauthorized 
        access to their encrypted copyrighted works.

    The report shall include legislative recommendations, if any.

    (h) Exceptions Regarding Minors.--In applying subsection (a) to a 
component or part, the court may consider the necessity for its intended 
and actual incorporation in a technology, product, service, or device, 
which--
        (1) does not itself violate the provisions of this title; and
        (2) has the sole purpose to prevent the access of minors to 
    material on the Internet.

    (i) Protection of Personally Identifying Information.--
        (1) Circumvention permitted.--Notwithstanding the provisions of 
    subsection (a)(1)(A), it is not a violation of that subsection for a 
    person to circumvent a technological measure that effectively 
    controls access to a work protected under this title, if--
            (A) the technological measure, or the work it protects, 
        contains the capability of collecting or disseminating 
        personally identifying information reflecting the online 
        activities of a natural person who seeks to gain access to the 
        work protected;
            (B) in the normal course of its operation, the technological 
        measure, or the work it protects, collects or disseminates 
        personally identifying information about the person who seeks to 
        gain access to the work protected, without providing conspicuous 
        notice of such collection or dissemination to such person, and 
        without providing such person with the capability to prevent or 
        restrict such collection or dissemination;
            (C) the act of circumvention has the sole effect of 
        identifying and disabling the capability described in 
        subparagraph (A), and has no other effect on the ability of any 
        person to gain access to any work; and
            (D) the act of circumvention is carried out solely for the 
        purpose of preventing the collection or dissemination of 
        personally identifying information about a natural person who 
        seeks to gain access to the work protected, and is not in 
        violation of any other law.

        (2) Inapplicability to certain technological measures.--This 
    subsection does not apply to a technological measure, or a work it 
    protects, that does not collect or disseminate personally 
    identifying information and that is disclosed to a user as not 
    having or using such capability.

    (j) Security Testing.--
        (1) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the term 
    ``security testing'' means accessing a computer, computer system, or 
    computer network, solely for the purpose of good faith testing, 
    investigating, or correcting, a security flaw or vulnerability, with 
    the authorization of the owner or operator of such computer, 
    computer system, or computer network.
        (2) Permissible acts of security testing.--Notwithstanding the 
    provisions of subsection (a)(1)(A), it is not a violation of that 
    subsection for a person to engage in an act of security testing, if 
    such act does not constitute infringement under this title or a 
    violation of applicable law other than this section, including 
    section 1030 of title 18 and those provisions of title 18 amended by 
    the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986.
        (3) Factors in determining exemption.--In determining whether a 
    person qualifies for the exemption under paragraph (2), the factors 
    to be considered shall include--
            (A) whether the information derived from the security 
        testing was used solely to promote the security of the owner or 
        operator of such computer, computer system or computer network, 
        or shared directly with the developer of such computer, computer 
        system, or computer network; and
            (B) whether the information derived from the security 
        testing was used or maintained in a manner that does not 
        facilitate infringement under this title or a violation of 
        applicable law other than this section, including a violation of 
        privacy or breach of security.

        (4) Use of technological means for security testing.--
    Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a)(2), it is not a 
    violation of that subsection for a person to develop, produce, 
    distribute or employ technological means for the sole purpose of 
    performing the acts of security testing described in subsection 
    (2),\1\ provided such technological means does not otherwise violate 
    section \2\ (a)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ So in original. Probably should be subsection ``(a)(2),''.
    \2\ So in original. Probably should be ``subsection''.

    (k) Certain Analog Devices and Certain Technological Measures.--
        (1) Certain analog devices.--
            (A) Effective 18 months after the date of the enactment of 
        this chapter, no person shall manufacture, import, offer to the 
        public, provide or otherwise traffic in any--
                (i) VHS format analog video cassette recorder unless 
            such recorder conforms to the automatic gain control copy 
            control technology;
                (ii) 8mm format analog video cassette camcorder unless 
            such camcorder conforms to the automatic gain control 
            technology;
                (iii) Beta format analog video cassette recorder, unless 
            such recorder conforms to the automatic gain control copy 
            control technology, except that this requirement shall not 
            apply until there are 1,000 Beta format analog video 
            cassette recorders sold in the United States in any one 
            calendar year after the date of the enactment of this 
            chapter;
                (iv) 8mm format analog video cassette recorder that is 
            not an analog video cassette camcorder, unless such recorder 
            conforms to the automatic gain control copy control 
            technology, except that this requirement shall not apply 
            until there are 20,000 such recorders sold in the United 
            States in any one calendar year after the date of the 
            enactment of this chapter; or
                (v) analog video cassette recorder that records using an 
            NTSC format video input and that is not otherwise covered 
            under clauses (i) through (iv), unless such device conforms 
            to the automatic gain control copy control technology.

            (B) Effective on the date of the enactment of this chapter, 
        no person shall manufacture, import, offer to the public, 
        provide or otherwise traffic in--
                (i) any VHS format analog video cassette recorder or any 
            8mm format analog video cassette recorder if the design of 
            the model of such recorder has been modified after such date 
            of enactment so that a model of recorder that previously 
            conformed to the automatic gain control copy control 
            technology no longer conforms to such technology; or
                (ii) any VHS format analog video cassette recorder, or 
            any 8mm format analog video cassette recorder that is not an 
            8mm analog video cassette camcorder, if the design of the 
            model of such recorder has been modified after such date of 
            enactment so that a model of recorder that previously 
            conformed to the four-line colorstripe copy control 
            technology no longer conforms to such technology.

        Manufacturers that have not previously manufactured or sold a 
        VHS format analog video cassette recorder, or an 8mm format 
        analog cassette recorder, shall be required to conform to the 
        four-line colorstripe copy control technology in the initial 
        model of any such recorder manufactured after the date of the 
        enactment of this chapter, and thereafter to continue conforming 
        to the four-line colorstripe copy control technology. For 
        purposes of this subparagraph, an analog video cassette recorder 
        ``conforms to'' the four-line colorstripe copy control 
        technology if it records a signal that, when played back by the 
        playback function of that recorder in the normal viewing mode, 
        exhibits, on a reference display device, a display containing 
        distracting visible lines through portions of the viewable 
        picture.

        (2) Certain encoding restrictions.--No person shall apply the 
    automatic gain control copy control technology or colorstripe copy 
    control technology to prevent or limit consumer copying except such 
    copying--
            (A) of a single transmission, or specified group of 
        transmissions, of live events or of audiovisual works for which 
        a member of the public has exercised choice in selecting the 
        transmissions, including the content of the transmissions or the 
        time of receipt of such transmissions, or both, and as to which 
        such member is charged a separate fee for each such transmission 
        or specified group of transmissions;
            (B) from a copy of a transmission of a live event or an 
        audiovisual work if such transmission is provided by a channel 
        or service where payment is made by a member of the public for 
        such channel or service in the form of a subscription fee that 
        entitles the member of the public to receive all of the 
        programming contained in such channel or service;
            (C) from a physical medium containing one or more 
        prerecorded audiovisual works; or
            (D) from a copy of a transmission described in subparagraph 
        (A) or from a copy made from a physical medium described in 
        subparagraph (C).

    In the event that a transmission meets both the conditions set forth 
    in subparagraph (A) and those set forth in subparagraph (B), the 
    transmission shall be treated as a transmission described in 
    subparagraph (A).
        (3) Inapplicability.--This subsection shall not--
            (A) require any analog video cassette camcorder to conform 
        to the automatic gain control copy control technology with 
        respect to any video signal received through a camera lens;
            (B) apply to the manufacture, importation, offer for sale, 
        provision of, or other trafficking in, any professional analog 
        video cassette recorder; or
            (C) apply to the offer for sale or provision of, or other 
        trafficking in, any previously owned analog video cassette 
        recorder, if such recorder was legally manufactured and sold 
        when new and not subsequently modified in violation of paragraph 
        (1)(B).

        (4) Definitions.--For purposes of this subsection:
            (A) An ``analog video cassette recorder'' means a device 
        that records, or a device that includes a function that records, 
        on electromagnetic tape in an analog format the electronic 
        impulses produced by the video and audio portions of a 
        television program, motion picture, or other form of audiovisual 
        work.
            (B) An ``analog video cassette camcorder'' means an analog 
        video cassette recorder that contains a recording function that 
        operates through a camera lens and through a video input that 
        may be connected with a television or other video playback 
        device.
            (C) An analog video cassette recorder ``conforms'' to the 
        automatic gain control copy control technology if it--
                (i) detects one or more of the elements of such 
            technology and does not record the motion picture or 
            transmission protected by such technology; or
                (ii) records a signal that, when played back, exhibits a 
            meaningfully distorted or degraded display.

            (D) The term ``professional analog video cassette recorder'' 
        means an analog video cassette recorder that is designed, 
        manufactured, marketed, and intended for use by a person who 
        regularly employs such a device for a lawful business or 
        industrial use, including making, performing, displaying, 
        distributing, or transmitting copies of motion pictures on a 
        commercial scale.
            (E) The terms ``VHS format'', ``8mm format'', ``Beta 
        format'', ``automatic gain control copy control technology'', 
        ``colorstripe copy control technology'', ``four-line version of 
        the colorstripe copy control technology'', and ``NTSC'' have the 
        meanings that are commonly understood in the consumer 
        electronics and motion picture industries as of the date of the 
        enactment of this chapter.

        (5) Violations.--Any violation of paragraph (1) of this 
    subsection shall be treated as a violation of subsection (b)(1) of 
    this section. Any violation of paragraph (2) of this subsection 
    shall be deemed an ``act of circumvention'' for the purposes of 
    section 1203(c)(3)(A) of this chapter.

(Added Pub. L. 105-304, title I, Sec. 103(a), Oct. 28, 1998, 112 Stat. 
2863; amended Pub. L. 106-113, div. B, Sec. 1000(a)(9) [title V, 
Sec. 5006], Nov. 29, 1999, 113 Stat. 1536, 1501A-594.)

                       References in Text

    The date of the enactment of this chapter, referred to in subsecs. 
(a)(1)(A), (g)(5), and (k)(1), (4)(E), is the date of enactment of Pub. 
L. 105-304, which was approved Oct. 28, 1998.
    The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, referred to in subsecs. 
(g)(2)(D) and (j)(2), is Pub. L. 99-474, Oct. 16, 1986, 100 Stat. 1213, 
which amended section 1030 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, 
and enacted provisions set out as a note under section 1001 of Title 18. 
For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 
1986 Amendment note set out under section 1001 of Title 18 and Tables.


                               Amendments

    1999--Subsec. (a)(1)(C). Pub. L. 106-113 struck out ``on the 
record'' after ``determination in a rulemaking proceeding'' in first 
sentence.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 112, 114, 1203, 1204 of this 
title.



chanrobles.com.Com


ChanRobles Legal Resources:

ChanRobles On-Line Bar Review

ChanRobles Internet Bar Review : www.chanroblesbar.com

ChanRobles MCLE On-line

ChanRobles Lawnet Inc. - ChanRobles MCLE On-line : www.chanroblesmcleonline.com