§ 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.