Just when most thought that only companies providing backup software (using copy-protection circumvention) faced legal problems with the DMCA, the Internet Archive site ran into the same problem when trying to legally make backup copies of its vintage software. Even if a software package may now be considered obsolete, as long as it is copy-protected, then even making a backup copy in case the original media deteriorates still violates the DMCA. Particularly vulnerable media includes floppy disks and other magnetic media with a typical life span of 10 to 30 years.
As a result, early 2003 the Internet Archive submitted an initial comment detailing the problem and a further comment later to the Copyright Office with examples of software that may be lost if its copy-protection measures could not be circumvented to make backup copies. Late October 2003, the Copyright Office ruled that four exemptions to the vintage group that should be added to the anti-circumvention section of the DMCA which would be valid until the next rulemaking in 2006 by the Copyright Office.
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The US Internet Archive, which makes archival copies of software and data, said it was technically impossible to do its job because of the Act which forbids copying software. Because the life of a magnetic disk is only 10 to 30 years, the Archive would have to copy the stuff every few years to preserve it which would be illegal. This week the group announced on its site here that the Copyright Office has ordered a temporary exemption for the group's work. While this allows the Archive to carry on its Stirling work, the decision is up for review in 2006. Hopefully by then the DMCA will have been extensively reviewed or repealed. Read More on this at Archive.org here. |
THE DIGITAL Millennium Copyright Act is proving a headache for those hoping to preserve software and data.
It is nice to see the Internet Archive group get some exemptions from part of the DMCA in order for it to legally overcome protection measures in certain obsolete software titles. However for home, business and other users, if the software they use is copy-protected there is no way to legally make a backup without violating the DMCA. While most software is now supplied on supposedly ever-lasting CDs, these are still subject to deterioration from abuse, scratches and even the infamous CD-Rot.
The main reason the DMCA is here is for the entertainment industry to help maximize their profits by fighting off piracy at the cost of putting some other companies such as 321 studios out of business.
Feel free to discuss and find out more about copy protection systems and measures on our Copy Protection Discussion Forum.
Source: The Inquirer
