Sections 1202 & 1203 of the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act.
Re: Copyright Management Information.
17 U.S.C. § 1202, 1203; Public Law 105-304
(10/28/98); HR 2281.
Source: Library of Congress.
`Sec. 1202. Integrity of copyright management information
`(a) FALSE COPYRIGHT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION- No person shall knowingly and
with the intent to induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal infringement--
`(1) provide copyright management information that is false, or
`(2) distribute or import for distribution copyright management information
that is false.
`(b) REMOVAL OR ALTERATION OF COPYRIGHT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION- No person
shall, without the authority of the copyright owner or the law--
`(1) intentionally remove or alter any copyright management information,
`(2) distribute or import for distribution copyright management information
knowing that the copyright management information has been removed or altered
without authority of the copyright owner or the law, or
`(3) distribute, import for distribution, or publicly perform works, copies
of works, or phonorecords, knowing that copyright management information has
been removed or altered without authority of the copyright owner or the law,
knowing, or, with respect to civil remedies under section 1203, having
reasonable grounds to know, that it will induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal
an infringement of any right under this title.
`(c) DEFINITION- As used in this section, the term `copyright management
information' means any of the following information conveyed in connection with
copies or phonorecords of a work or performances or displays of a work,
including in digital form, except that such term does not include any personally
identifying information about a user of a work or of a copy, phonorecord,
performance, or display of a work:
`(1) The title and other information identifying the work, including the
information set forth on a notice of copyright.
`(2) The name of, and other identifying information about, the author of a
work.
`(3) The name of, and other identifying information about, the copyright
owner of the work, including the information set forth in a notice of
copyright.
`(4) With the exception of public performances of works by radio and
television broadcast stations, the name of, and other identifying information
about, a performer whose performance is fixed in a work other than an
audiovisual work.
`(5) With the exception of public performances of works by radio and
television broadcast stations, in the case of an audiovisual work, the name
of, and other identifying information about, a writer, performer, or director
who is credited in the audiovisual work.
`(6) Terms and conditions for use of the work.
`(7) Identifying numbers or symbols referring to such information or links
to such information.
`(8) Such other information as the Register of Copyrights may prescribe by
regulation, except that the Register of Copyrights may not require the
provision of any information concerning the user of a copyrighted work.
`(d) 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.
`(e) LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY-
`(1) ANALOG TRANSMISSIONS- In the case of an analog transmission, a person
who is making transmissions in its capacity as a broadcast station, or as a
cable system, or someone who provides programming to such station or system,
shall not be liable for a violation of subsection (b) if--
`(A) avoiding the activity that constitutes such violation is not
technically feasible or would create an undue financial hardship on such
person; and
`(B) such person did not intend, by engaging in such activity, to induce,
enable, facilitate, or conceal infringement of a right under this title.
`(2) DIGITAL TRANSMISSIONS-
`(A) If a digital transmission standard for the placement of copyright
management information for a category of works is set in a voluntary,
consensus standard-setting process involving a representative cross-section
of broadcast stations or cable systems and copyright owners of a category of
works that are intended for public performance by such stations or systems,
a person identified in paragraph (1) shall not be liable for a violation of
subsection (b) with respect to the particular copyright management
information addressed by such standard if--
`(i) the placement of such information by someone other than such
person is not in accordance with such standard; and
`(ii) the activity that constitutes such violation is not intended to
induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal infringement of a right under this
title.
`(B) Until a digital transmission standard has been set pursuant to
subparagraph (A) with respect to the placement of copyright management
information for a category or works, a person identified in paragraph (1)
shall not be liable for a violation of subsection (b) with respect to such
copyright management information, if the activity that constitutes such
violation is not intended to induce, enable, facilitate, or conceal
infringement of a right under this title, and if--
`(i) the transmission of such information by such person would result
in a perceptible visual or aural degradation of the digital signal; or
`(ii) the transmission of such information by such person would
conflict with--
`(I) an applicable government regulation relating to transmission of
information in a digital signal;
`(II) an applicable industry-wide standard relating to the
transmission of information in a digital signal that was adopted by a
voluntary consensus standards body prior to the effective date of this
chapter; or
`(III) an applicable industry-wide standard relating to the
transmission of information in a digital signal that was adopted in a
voluntary, consensus standards-setting process open to participation by
a representative cross-section of broadcast stations or cable systems
and copyright owners of a category of works that are intended for public
performance by such stations or systems.
`(3) DEFINITIONS- As used in this subsection--
`(A) the term `broadcast station' has the meaning given that term in
section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153); and
`(B) the term `cable system' has the meaning given that term in section
602 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 522).
`Sec. 1203. Civil remedies
`(a) CIVIL ACTIONS- Any person injured by a violation of section 1201 or 1202
may bring a civil action in an appropriate United States district court for such
violation.
`(b) POWERS OF THE COURT- In an action brought under subsection (a), the
court--
`(1) may grant temporary and permanent injunctions on such terms as it
deems reasonable to prevent or restrain a violation, but in no event shall
impose a prior restraint on free speech or the press protected under the 1st
amendment to the Constitution;
`(2) at any time while an action is pending, may order the impounding, on
such terms as it deems reasonable, of any device or product that is in the
custody or control of the alleged violator and that the court has reasonable
cause to believe was involved in a violation;
`(3) may award damages under subsection (c);
`(4) in its discretion may allow the recovery of costs by or against any
party other than the United States or an officer thereof;
`(5) in its discretion may award reasonable attorney's fees to the
prevailing party; and
`(6) may, as part of a final judgment or decree finding a violation, order
the remedial modification or the destruction of any device or product involved
in the violation that is in the custody or control of the violator or has been
impounded under paragraph (2).
`(c) AWARD OF DAMAGES-
`(1) IN GENERAL- Except as otherwise provided in this title, a person
committing a violation of section 1201 or 1202 is liable for either--
`(A) the actual damages and any additional profits of the violator, as
provided in paragraph (2), or
`(B) statutory damages, as provided in paragraph (3).
`(2) ACTUAL DAMAGES- The court shall award to the complaining party the
actual damages suffered by the party as a result of the violation, and any
profits of the violator that are attributable to the violation and are not
taken into account in computing the actual damages, if the complaining party
elects such damages at any time before final judgment is entered.
`(3) STATUTORY DAMAGES- (A) At any time before final judgment is entered, a
complaining party may elect to recover an award of statutory damages for each
violation of section 1201 in the sum of not less than $200 or more than $2,500
per act of circumvention, device, product, component, offer, or performance of
service, as the court considers just.
`(B) At any time before final judgment is entered, a complaining party
may elect to recover an award of statutory damages for each violation of
section 1202 in the sum of not less than $2,500 or more than $25,000.
`(4) REPEATED VIOLATIONS- In any case in which the injured party sustains
the burden of proving, and the court finds, that a person has violated section
1201 or 1202 within 3 years after a final judgment was entered against the
person for another such violation, the court may increase the award of damages
up to triple the amount that would otherwise be awarded, as the court
considers just.
`(5) Innocent violations-
`(A) IN GENERAL- The court in its discretion may reduce or remit the
total award of damages in any case in which the violator sustains the burden
of proving, and the court finds, that the violator was not aware and had no
reason to believe that its acts constituted a violation.
`(B) NONPROFIT LIBRARY, ARCHIVES, OR EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS- In the
case of a nonprofit library, archives, or educational institution, the court
shall remit damages in any case in which the library, archives, or
educational institution sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds,
that the library, archives, or educational institution was not aware and had
no reason to believe that its acts constituted a violation.
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