U.S. Lawmakers Propose Fair Use DMCA Exemption

February 28, 2007

U.S. House Reps. Rick Boucher (D - VA) and John Doolittle (R - CA) have introduced a bill that would grant a new exemption for private, non-commercial copies of digital content, from violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act .

Drawing reference from the bill's serial number- (H.R. 1201)-the proposal would create a new class of "Section 1201 exemptions."

"The Digital Millennium Copyright Act dramatically tilted the copyright balance toward complete copyright protection at the expense of the public's right to fair use," Rep. Boucher said in a statement. "The FAIR USE Act [Freedom And Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship Act of 2007] will assure that consumers who purchase digital media can enjoy a broad range of uses of the media for their own convenience in a way which does not infringe the copyright in the work."

The next paragraph outlines these "broad uses" in more detail:

"It is not an infringement of copyright for a person who lawfully obtains a copy or phonorecord of a digital work, or who lawfully receives a transmission of a digital work, to reproduce, store, adapt, or access the digital work: (1) for archival purposes, if all such archival copies are destroyed or rendered permanently inaccessible in the event that continued possession of the work should cease to be rightful; and (2) in order to perform or display the work, or an adaptation of the work, on a digital media device, if the work is not so performed or displayed publicly."