Digital Millennium Copyright Act

The 1998 United States law that amended copyright rules for digital works, including limits on online service-provider liability and bans on circumventing technological protection measures.

Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act: The DMCA title that limits certain online service providers’ liability for users’ copyright infringement when statutory conditions are met. This title supplies the law’s notice-and-takedown system and service-provider safe harbors.
DMCA safe harbor: A statutory limitation on monetary liability for qualifying service providers that meet specified conditions. It is the central liability protection created for online intermediaries.
YouTube: An online video-sharing platform launched in 2005 that hosts videos uploaded by users. Its copyright removal and dispute systems operate within the DMCA notice-and-takedown framework.
Content moderation: The review and management of material posted to digital services. DMCA notices make copyright enforcement a recurring part of platform moderation.
DMCA § 1201 exemptions: Triennial exemptions permitting specified circumvention of access controls for defined purposes under DMCA § 1201. The exemptions periodically adjust anti-circumvention rules for particular uses and technologies.
Anti-circumvention: Legal restrictions on bypassing technologies that control access to or use of protected works. The DMCA separately prohibits circumvention and certain trafficking in circumvention tools.
DMCA takedown notice: A rights holder’s formal notification identifying allegedly infringing material and requesting its removal or disabling. A sufficiently compliant notice sets the safe-harbor process in motion.
Internet Archive: A nonprofit digital library that preserves web pages, books, audio, video, and software. Its preservation work has intersected with DMCA limits and exemptions for digital works.
Copyright troll: A pejorative term for an entity accused of asserting copyright claims primarily to extract settlements. Critics argue that automated or weakly reviewed DMCA notices can facilitate abusive claims.
Lenz v. Universal Music Corp.: A United States appeals court case holding that copyright holders must consider fair use before sending DMCA takedown notices. The case addresses whether notice senders must account for fair use.

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